Australian Internationals Craig Parry and Peter O’Malley will headline the field in the Victorian PGA Championship, starting on Thursday.

Three-time Australian Masters champion Craig Parry will be out to add to the 23 international victories he has snared during a career spanning almost three decades.

Last year’s runner-up Peter O’Malley and in-form former champion Andre Stolz add to the depth of the field at the Forest Resort in Creswick near Ballarat.

Stolz has been a prolific performer on the One Asia Tour, winning the Thailand Open and the Indonesian PGA and banking more than $450,000 in nine events last year.

Other touring pros in the field include New Zealanders Gareth Paddison and Doug Holloway, while dual Australian Masters champion Bradley Hughes will make a surprise appearance.

Victorians Matthew Griffin and Ashley Hall, a winner of the 2007 PGA and 2009 Victorian Open titles and a confirmed starter in July’s British Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes, will also line up.

O’Malley, from Bathurst in NSW, is keen to find out how the revamped regional course compares to the more familiar layouts.

“For me, like many of the other guys, it will be my first time playing the course, which will add a new challenge,” O’Malley said.

“I think it will be interesting for the local crowds to see how each of the pros play the course and have different approaches to course management.”

The par-72 resort layout at Creswick measures 6300 metres but plays a little longer given the need to lay-up at the turn-point of dogleg holes or avoid water hazards impacting several landing areas.

Some fairways are also set into rolling hills abutting the state forest, providing enough slope and elevation change to complicate club selection.

The tournament runs from February 16-19 and carries $120,000 prize money.