World No 2 Jiyai Shin will headline an all-star field for the one-day event on the 18-hole, par-60 course. Shin was the leading earner on the LPGA Tour last season, collecting over $1.8 million in prizemoney.

She will be joined by fellow Korean and world No 24 Ji Young Oh in the quality field, which also includes leading Australians Katherine Hull, Sarah Kemp and Sarah Jane Smith.

In total, six players from the lucrative LPGA Tour - including four winners in the United States - will take on some of Australia's best amateur talent.

"It's not often you get to see this sort of field, including the world's No 2 player, and not have to pay any money. You don't get a quality field like this in Wollongong very often," Russell Vale professional Steve McRae said.

The players will be competing for a $20,000 first prize, but McRae said it was the relaxed nature of the tournament that attracted the top players.

Overseas professionals are in the midst of their off-season training ahead of the LPGA Tour, which begins next month.

McRae coaches the two top Koreans, plus Aussies Hull and Kemp, and he says the Short Course Championships provided a welcome relief from the monotony of training.

"It's all about the fun aspect," McRae said.

"Someone like Katherine (Hull) would rather play than practise. It's not about the money, for most of the girls it's about coming out and having some fun."

World No 105 Sarah Jane Smith said Russell Vale has a growing reputation among players and should grow in future years.

"I played here last year and It's an awesome lead-up for the season," she said.