Carrying forward the momentum of the past two weeks of big-time tournament golf, Warragul Country Club 90 minutes south-east of Melbourne will welcome the strongest field it has seen since the tournament’s inception in 2019.

The seventh event on the 2022/2023 ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia schedule will see four of this year’s winners tee it up along with the defending champion, decorated veterans in Peter Lonard and Stephen Allan and international players such as American pair Devon Bling and Jake Hennessy and New Zealand’s Nick Voke.

Thompson was just five starts into his professional career when he defeated Jordan Zunic in the six-hole final 12 months ago.

It followed on from a runner-up finish at the NSW Open and top 10s at both TPS Sydney and the Vic PGA.

Every indication was that the win would provide the springboard to even greater success, yet Thompson concedes a year later that he was guilty of standing still rather than seeking to advance his game further.

In the 20 starts since lifting the Gippsland Super 6 trophy, the 24-year-old has just two top-10 finishes but valuable lessons he intends to carry forward for the rest of his career.

“It set the bar high for myself and while I never got fully like, ‘Now I’m just going to take off’, I sort of tried to let it fall into place more than trying to keep getting better, if I’m honest,” Thompson admitted.

“If you’re not getting better, if you’re trending on a straight line, then you’re going backwards because everyone else is getting better.

“I feel like I’ve learned a lot since then. Definitely more experienced and better off for the middle of this year, not playing that great.

“In the long run, when I look back, I think it will be an important six months of my career, the past six months, for sure.”

Despite the unique format, Thompson is adamant that the strategy remains the same.

Rather than get caught up in a head-to-head battle in Sunday’s knockout stage, Thompson insists that the old adage of one shot at a time is just as applicable as in any 72-hole standard stroke play tournament.

“It’s still stroke play,” said Thompson. “It’s not like it’s match play. In the first round I was two shots down with two to go. I made up two shots on the second-last hole, halved the last and won the playoff hole. If it was match play, I would have still been one down.

“Not a huge adjustment and I think the process is the same. Hole by hole, shot by shot. It’s pretty boring, but that’s just what it is.

“Looking back, I think I did well in just playing every hole as it was and if I got through, awesome. Then you reset and go again.”

Buoyed by a tie for 18th at last week’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open, Thompson is excited to return to the Gippsland region where he and the other players have been so warmly welcomed.

Although the numbers lining the fairways may not match those witnessed at Royal Queensland and Victoria the past fortnight, Thompson is ready to soak up some country hospitality as the defending champ.

“The guys that I played with in the pro-am, local guys, they were great. We had a great time,” he said.

“I’m from a regional place, Port Lincoln, which has just 15,000 people so I probably relate a little bit to the golf course.

“I think it’s great. It’s a change-up. Obviously playing the last two events in bigger cities, it’s nice to go out there and if the interest is there. then why not?

“It’s my only win as a pro so I’ve never been anywhere and defended so it should be good.”

The Gippsland Super 6 Monday qualifier was held at Moe Golf Club where George Worrall led the 20 qualifiers to advance to the main draw starting Thursday.

Round 1 tees off at 7.15am AEDT on Thursday morning and the final two rounds will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo from 2.30pm Saturday and 12.30pm Sunday.