First won by 1969 US Open champion Orville Moody in 1986, the Australian Senior PGA Championship boasts former winners such as Lee Trevino (1996), Terry Gale (1997 and 2006), Peter Senior (2009 and 2019) and Peter Fowler (2011).

The evergreen pair of Senior and Fowler return to Richmond for the 2022 edition where they will face off against the ‘young bucks’ such as Richard Green, Andre Stolz, Jason Norris and Scott Laycock, the final two rounds to be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo.

Add in last year’s runner-up Peter Lonard, Peter O’Malley, Terry Price, Mike Harwood and 2017 champion David McKenzie and it is an entry list that has all the hallmarks of our most prestigious events of a couple of decades ago.

“It looks like the Australian Open leaderboard of 1992,” said Wall (pictured), who won on the fifth hole of a sudden-death playoff with Lonard in a rain-interrupted 2021 championship.

“In 1992 I would have paid to go and watch these guys and now I’m there competing.

“I played with Jason Norris down at Thurgoona (NSW Senior Open), he’s a massive talent. Richard Green is awesome, ‘Stolzy’ is playing great again, Dave McKenzie will be there.

“Each year I do get more confident and I feel that if I do play my best, I can defend. I’ve just got to find my best for three consecutive days, which they seem to be able to do quite easily.

“Do I think I can win again? Yes, but I know I’m going to need my best on all three days to do it.”

A former Pennant player at Pymble Golf Club who at age 47 set his sights on joining the SParms PGA Legends Tour, Wall exceeded his own expectations with his victory 12 months ago.

Now in his seventh year on tour, Wall has since competed at Senior Open qualifying in the UK, played in the PGA Seniors Championship at Formby in England and teed it up in three Champions Tour qualifiers in the US.

“Winning that was never in my goals but it gave me the opportunity to go and measure myself against others,” added Wall, who has worked with coach John Serhan for close to a decade.

“Champions Tour, I need to be two or three shots better every round if I am going to do anything over there, but it gave me some awesome times of just sitting in the lounge with the likes of (Padraig) Harrington, Jean van de Velde, (Miguel Angel) Jimenez.

“When I played at Pebble Beach and at Formby I was introduced as the Australian Senior PGA champion. To be representing my mates who are on the SParms PGA Legends Tour was awesome.

“I wouldn’t have had those opportunities prior. It was cool.”

Last year’s PGA Senior Championship was reduced to just 18 holes due to rain but despite the course receiving 1.7 metres of water this year, a favourable forecast should see the Richmond layout present beautifully when it makes its television debut.

The course received a further 25mm of rain in a 10-minute period last Tuesday but Course Superintendent Mark Williams and his team have worked tirelessly to firm up the playing surfaces, those who played in Monday’s MPP Open Match raving about the quality of the greens.

The first round of the Nova Employment Australian PGA Senior Championship tees off on Friday morning with rounds two and three to be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo.