Last year’s triumph has spring boarded the talented trainee towards a fruitful 12 months.

Droop won the New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory Trainee Championship in August and finished second in the Queensland equivalent. 

While two weeks ago at the Victorian PGA Championship at RACV Cape Schanck Resort he smashed the course record with an eight-under-par second round of 62, eventually finishing in a tie for fourth.

The 21-year-old was looking forward to getting back out onto the course that he played so well last year.

“It’s really nice to come back to a course that you’ve played well at before,” Droop said.

“You seem to rise to the courses that you play well at...it’s really good for the mental game as well.

“It’s been a really good year so far, it’s been good to play a couple of bigger PGA events.

“My game is getting a little bit better as we go, but the experience is the main thing.”

Droop is driven to becoming a professional golfer, he believes at his best he can match it with the pros, but it is just a matter of delivering that form on a more regular basis.

“I think when I play my best, I can match-it with the full-time guys. But it’s that experience, getting more comfortable in those positions, they’re (the full-time players) really good, they don’t get fazed by much, whereas we can get a little bit excited and play a bit quick.

“The more I play the more consistent I’ll get over time...putting myself in those positions more and more often.”

The four-day tournament begins on Tuesday with 77 players vying for the world’s richest trainee tournament, a $60,000 purse.

The first group will tee-off at 7.30am with the last of the 26 groups due at 9.06am, with Droop getting under way at 7.46am.