The 22 year-old is the grandson of legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, considered one of the greatest of all time.

Palmer had 92 professional wins, including seven majors.

He won the Masters four times.

Saunders (right) will be attempting to win his first professional tournament when he lines up in the NSW PGA starting tomorrow at Wollongong Golf Course.

"It goes with the territory," Saunders says of the extra attention his heritage brings.

"It doesn't bother me, you get used to it. The one thing that does get frustrating is when I go play in a tournament and I play poorly and people still want to interview me - that bothers me, they shouldn't interview me, they should interview the guy who played well."

The right-hander is hoping to capitalise on an encouraging performance at last week's Australian Masters, where he missed the cut by three shots.

He will also play the NSW Open and Australian Open in coming weeks.

"It was a great opportunity to come over here for a month, get some good experience playing in four events against world-class players over here. It's a great way to get my career started," he said.

Growing up next to the famous Bay Hill course, where his grandfather, now 80, still hosts a USPGA Tour event, Saunders was playing as soon as he could hold a club.

He credits his parents Roy and Amy (Palmer's daughter) for much of his success. While he admits Palmer has been a big influence, he said he was encouraged to forge his own identity.

"My grandad taught me how to put my hands on the club ... but I kind of learnt the game on my own, my grandad wanted me to work things out on my own."

Meanwhile, Tim Wilkinson and Colombian Manny Villegas both withdrew yesterday.