Twelve months ago, Wilkin expressed his desire to use his four-stroke win at Redcliffe Golf Club as momentum for a strong season on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.

He broke through for his maiden win on tour at the Queensland PGA Championship at Nudgee Golf Club in November but didn’t carry that form into the bigger events as he had hoped.

The now 30-year-old finished the season 11th on the Order of Merit to open the door to opportunities abroad, opportunities he intends to grasp on the back of another strong week at Redcliffe.

“Because it’s at a time of the year when there’s not much on, you usually get a really good field at Redcliffe,” Wilkin said of defending his title against a field boasting fellow Tour winners Marcus Fraser, Jake McLeod, Jake Higginbottom, Andrew Martin, Deyen Lawson, Aaron Pike and Jack Thompson.

“It’s only two days but you’re still getting a pretty strong field. You’ve got to beat pretty good players so it definitely gets you into tournament mode.

“I get Second Stage in Europe which is first week of November and I should get the Dunhill Links Championship as well in October.

“I went to Asian Q School in January and missed by a shot so I’ve got secondary tour status. There’s a couple of events in Indonesia next month and then potentially smaller Asian Tour events.

“I haven’t played that well since Nudgee to be honest so another confidence booster at Redcliffe would be very handy.”

Although he admits to have not been at his best in recent months, Wilkin gave a reminder at the Ian Weigh Toyota Rockhampton Pro-Am of the ability he possesses.

Eight shots back at the start of the final round, Wilkin opened with a par and then three straight bogeys. He followed that with a birdie blitz of eight holes straight in a round of 7-under 65 to earn a share of fourth.

“I had a chance for birdie on the ninth hole which was probably the easiest of the lot,” Wilkin reflected.

“Confidence can change very fast.

“One day you think you’re on top of it and then then next day you’re not.

“You’ve got to think that no one can beat you and that no one is better than you.

“That’s got to be your mentality. You might not be the best but you’ve got to try to believe it.”

One of the richest pro-ams on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series schedule, total prizemoney at Redcliffe has increased again this year from $65,000 to $70,000.

The shotgun start tees off at 10am on Thursday with Wilkin drawn to play with Jake McLeod for Round 1.

Round 1 draw and live scores

Photo: Travis Hayto/PGA of Australia