ONE-time US PGA Tour event winner Andre Stolz has been declared the man to beat in the $45,000 Wagga Pro-Am that gets underway today at Wagga Country Club.Stolz hit the fairways of the Wagga Country Club yesterday morning for a practice round and looked the goods as he attempts to take out his first Wagga Pro-Am.The picturesque lakeside course was a hub of activity yesterday as more than 80 of the country's finest golfers arrived for practice ahead of today's opening round.Stolz along with fellow big-name players Scott Laycock, Terry Pilkadaris and Aaron Townsend will all be among the last groups to tee off this afternoon.Last year's winners Steven Jeffress and Leigh McKechnie both singled out Stolz as clearly one of the leading contenders for the two-day tournament.The 30-year-old held his ticket on the US PGA Tour and was considered one of Australia's finest golfers before he took a break from the game back in 2006."When you're up against guys like Andre Stolz and Steve Conran, you know it's a good field," co-winner of last year's event Leigh McKechnie said yesterday."Those are the sort of guys you can use to gauge how you're playing."Wagga Country Club club professional Ian Ferguson also indicated Stolz fitted the likely criteria."It will be someone who's played here before," Ferguson said."That's important."Ferguson believes Jeffress is a good chance of winning the event for a second consecutive year, something the 32-year-old explained is easier said than done."There is a lot of good players here, guys like Andre Stolz, Aaron Townsend, you're up against good quality opposition."
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