The links course - which Speirs sees every day - will be tested by the field of 144 and the home professional is targeting a run deep into the weekend.

"I don't think there is any extra pressure on me because it's here," Speirs said. "Playing tournaments like this is something that I used to do 10 years ago and have been doing part-time for the past couple of years and you always want to play well.

"It doesn't matter where the event is.

"But I would like to give the members someone to cheer for on the weekend.

"I know the course very well which is a bit of an advantage over most of the guys playing here."

Speirs is grouped with Steve Collins and Wollongong 17-year-old amateur Aaron Keevers and they are scheduled to start from the first tee at 11.50am today.

"I would like to play well on the first day and position myself to be in contention," he said.

"The afternoon tee time is tricky because the wind will get up but I have been putting in a lot of work in the past couple of weeks."

Low scoring is expected but the wind will be a major factor in whether the professionals tear apart a course which is short by modern standards.

The layout of the course has been adjusted for the PGA with the championship to be played over two loops of nine holes.

"Obviously the PGA changed it to have two loops of nine so that they can have a two-tee start and the flow of the course has been affected," Speirs said.

"Ultimately you're still playing the same 18 holes and you have to do as well as you can."

Speirs said the winner could come from about 20 or 30 players but he fancied some of the big names.

"The field is fantastic, half the field played in the (Australian) Masters last week, so we are stoked with that being a new event," Speirs said.

"I think Craig Spence and Michael Long are playing very well."