Although he was brought up in Gippsland and later moved to Melbourne, Stubbs and his family often holiday on the Mornington Peninsula.

“I’ve played junior tournaments there (at Moonah) and played there quite a bit,” he said.

“I like it. It’s windy and I like the wind so I’m excited to be there.”

Moonah’s two courses at Fingal – the brutish Open course originally designed by Peter Thomson to host the national championship, and Ross Perrett’s more friendly but broadly popular Legends course – will host the latest instalment of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia from Thursday.

With his outstanding tied-third finish in the ISPS HANDA Australian Open at Kingston Heath on Sunday, the 23-year-old rookie pro Stubbs now knows that his playing rights for next season at home are secure.

It gives him security to pursue his dreams with freedom; the top three on the Order of Merit pick up DP World Tour cards for next season, and he is currently 10^th. Beyond Moonah Links, he plans on a crack at the Asian Tour Q-School in a couple of weeks, where the top 35 will receive cards for 2025.

Stubbs had only American Ryggs Johnston and Curtis Luck ahead of him at Kingston Heath. Given that he only turned pro for the WA PGA Championship in October, his improvement has been impressive.

“This was my second Aussie Open and my sixth start as a pro, so very happy,” he said. “It might take a while for it to sink in but I’m happy with how I handled the whole week and how I played. Top-three in my national Open is awesome. It sucks not to be a little closer to Ryggs, but it was a great week for me.”

Stubbs was right in contention for the win until he bogeyed the brilliant par-3 15^th hole from behind the green. “It wasn’t a terrible golf shot,” he said. “Just pulled it a little and went into a bad spot. That’s what we’ve got in the sandbelt. You can be very close but end up dead.”

Stubbs was also frustratingly close to grabbing one of the three spots in next year’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Ultimately the third spot went to Marc Leishman who tied with him. So in effect, had Stubbs’ chip from beside the 18^th green on Sunday gone in, he would have been going to Royal Portrush. Because they were tied-third, Leishman was awarded the spot because his world ranking is higher.

“I knew that was going to be the case,” said Stubbs. “I knew that I was tied with him on the last hole and I said to my caddie ‘just got to make one more birdie’. I gave it my best shot but didn’t quite get there. I’m a bit gutted not to get a ticket back to the Open but stoked with the week.”

This week’s field for the Vic PGA is headed by defending champion David Micheluzzi with a $250,000 prize fund.

The Victorian Celebrity Amateur Challenge, a best-ball nett stroke event where pros partner with an amateur, is another highlight with the likes of Brendan Fevola, Dermott Brereton and Ryan Papenhuyzen taking part.

PHOTO: Jasper Stubbs is a star attraction at the Vic PGA at Moonah Links this week.