Terry Price, Mike Harwood, Peter O’Malley, Rodger Davis and Peter Senior are all confirmed starters for the 2017 Victorian Senior Masters, which will be played at the Ballarat course on January 27-28.

The tournament carries $30,000 in prizemoney and replaces Midlands’ annual pro-am, which is usually held in March.

Midlands professional Michael Cooke, who has entered for the event, said it is an exciting group of players that has been secured for the club’s first staging of the competition.

“This is a very strong field, the best field that they’ve had for a long time. We’ve got good quality players,” Cooke said.

Cooke said the Victorian Senior Masters’ tier one status is appealing to players on the circuit.

“It attracts better players because a tier one event means you get a two-year exemption on the senior tour if you win,” he said.

“We are hoping to have it (the event) for a few years and with a bit of luck we can lead in to the Australian championships. That’s still our main goal.”

Cooke is thrilled with the condition of the Midlands course just weeks out from the high-profile event and only a few months after it was forced to close during periods of heavy rain late last year.

“It’s brilliant,” he said.

“We’ve had the worst winter, obviously, but it’s paid dividends because we’ve got water.

“Really, it’s the best I’ve seen it. The fairways – they’re like carpet.

“The last few summers we’ve only been able to water like once a week to conserve our water, but with the amount of water we’ve got, we’ve been doing four or five times a week.”

The Victorian Senior Masters action gets underway with the opening round on Friday, January 27 before a special dinner, which is planned at the clubhouse later that evening. The second and final round is then played on Saturday, January 28 and the winner crowned.

Spectators are encouraged to attend the championships, with free entry across the two days.