JAPAN Tour winner Wayne Perske will be vying for a place in the $130,000 Victorian PGA Championship in a pre-qualifying event at Buninyong on Monday.
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He will be among more than 30 players trying to secure one of a minimum of 13 spots in the 132-strong field, which tees off at Creswick’s Forest Resort on Thursday.
The controversial Perske from Queensland took out the 2006 Token Homemate Cup in Japan – an event also won by Andre Stolz (2003), who will be attempting to earn his second Victorian PGA Championship title next week.
Perske also played in the British Open in the same year.
Perske’s golf career suffered a major setback in 2010 when arrested and convicted for having possessed cocaine.
He was suspended from the PGA of Australia Tour as a result of the incident.
If he gets through Mondays qualifying, this will be his first event since the ban.
The championship has attracted 27 winners on the PGA of Australasia Tour, led by the experienced Paul Gow, Peter O’Malley, Terry Price, Paul Sheehan, Scott Laycock, Andrew Stolz, New Zealand’s Michael Long and Terry Pilkadaris.
Defending champion Gareth Paddison will join Matt Griffin, Ashley Hall, Kim Felton and Aaron Townsend as form players.
Monday’s pre-qualifier launches a seven-day program:
TUESDAY: members pro-am 12.30pm
WEDNESDAY: corporate pro-am 12.30pm
THURSDAY: Victoria PGA Championship round 1 and black-tie dinner
FRIDAY: Victoria PGA Championship round 2
SATURDAY: Victoria PGA Championship round 3 and free junior clinic 3pm-4pm
SUNDAY: Victoria PGA Championship round 4
A hole-in-one challenge is being run on the 18th hole at the end of each of the four days of the championship, with a $34,000 motor vehicle up for grabs.