Stolz won the title three years ago and will be at Creswick’s Forest Resort layout next month trying to repeat the performance

PGA Australia yesterday confirmed Stolz as a starter.

“Winning a tournament is always a great feeling,” Stolz said.

“To claim a championship for a second time I imagine will be even sweeter.

“If I do manage to win, it will be an excellent way to head back to the OneAsia Tour and begin my order of merit defence,” he said.

PGA Australia southern division executive officer Nick Thornton said attracting players of the calibre of Stolz and Peter O’Malley, who had his entry formally confirmed yesterday, was fantastic news for the championship at Creswick on February 13-19.

The New South Wales-based Stolz, 41, won last year’s Indonesia PGA Championship and Thailand Open on his way to heading the tour’s order of merit.

He played in six events on the Australasian Tour last year, making five cuts and tying for second in the NSW PGA Championship.

Stolz has also won on the US PGA and Nationwide Tours, as well as in Japan in a 20-year career as a professional.

His Australian victories include the 2002 Queensland PGA Championship and 2002 Victorian Open.

His US Tour win came in the 2004 Michelin Championship in Las Vegas.

Thornton visited Creswick, taking with him the Adroit Insurance Group Victorian PGA Championship silverware, which will be up for grabs at the venue for the next five years.

Thornton said he was impressed by the depth in talent among entries, which had topped 160.

As well as Stolz and O’Malley getting on board, veteran Terry Price is also set to be in the field of 132.

This select line-up will feature six amateurs, including Ballarat’s Craig Boucher, who qualified for the event in a special event at Creswick late last year.