One of the favourites for the Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links where he will defend his title starting on Thursday, the multiple Tour winner returned home last week following some overseas events for the Gippsland Super 6 in Warragul.

With a goal just to make it to the matchplay section on Sunday, Martin was pleased with how he performed on his return to Aussie soil, making the last 24 before being eliminated in the second round of six-hole match-play.

“After the first couple of rounds I probably surprised myself.. It was a lot better than I was expecting,” he said of his week in Warragul.

With his game in slightly better shape than he thought, Martin is primed to defend his Vic PGA title this week at Moonah Links.

“It’s sort of like a second home to me here (at Moonah), spending so much time living down here,” he said.

“It’s very familiar to me and it probably makes the week a little bit easier for me… very stress free lead-up.

“It’s probably a little bit softer underneath this year. I don’t think it’s going to run out as much on the fairways.”

Martin was made to work for his title last year, finally prevailing after a gruelling five-hole playoff down the challenging par-5 18th.

A short-game master, Martin is not known for his length on tour and was faced with not only the longest hole on the golf course in the playoff, but one of the longest hitters in Lincoln Tighe.

“Eighteen probably didn’t suit me as a hole,” he laughed.

“I knew if I got my drive away though, I’m very comfortable with the second shot… hopefully the putter gets hot like it did last year.”

In its over-100 year history, only a handful of players have won multiple Vic PGA championships, and even less have defended their title. One who has though is Moonah Links course designer, and five-time Open Championship winner, Peter Thomson.

With company like that, Martin is eager to add his name to the list.

“Being a Victorian, it’s up there. You look at the trophy and there’s a lot great names on it, so it’d be nice to get mine on there again,” he said.

The Vic PGA is played in conjunction with the Victorian Amateur Challenge, which sees a number of amateurs playing alongside the pros in teams, in a modified four-ball best-ball nett stroke format.

High-profile amateurs in the field include Sir Ian Botham, Andy Lee, Jess Hosking, and Brendan Fevola.

The Victorian PGA Championship kicks on Thursday, with the final two rounds live and free on Kayo Freebies, and on Fox Sports on Foxtel. Click HERE for Kayo Freebies.