An elite field of 65 competitors will tee off this Sunday in the Men’s and Women’s Southern Open at Royal Hobart Golf Club.

Front runner for the title will be 31-year-old Tasmanian touring professional and local member Simon Hawkes.

The former Victorian Open champion has been starved of competition and will be tough to beat around his home track.

“It’ll be the first time I’ve had a scorecard in my back pocket since the New Zealand Open in March,” said Hawkes.

“Outcomes are always nice, but the process of tournament golf is what I’ll be focussing on before the professional season hopefully restarts around early January,” said Hawkes.

Two men hoping to challenge Hawkes for the title are fellow Royal Hobart member Joey Bower and 19-year-old young gun Ronan Filgate from Prospect Vale.

Both are extremely capable of overcoming Hawkes over 36-holes with Bower playing off plus two and Filgate plus four.

Other challenges are expected to come from Tasmania Golf Club’s Dylan Backhouse, Burnie’s Brayden Field and Wynyard’s Jack Lakin.

Juniors Lachlan White from Tasmania Golf Club and Hunter Gillard from Royal Hobart will also be keen to perform well.

The Women’s Southern Open will see another local member tee off as favourite, 17-year-old Hallie Meaburn.

Meaburn is currently playing off plus four and local knowledge will be a key factor in staving off challenges during Sunday’s 18-holes.

However, 17-year-old Tasmania Golf Club junior Mackenzie Wilson and 15-year-old Launceston member Jorjah Bailey are well equipped for the challenge.

Play gets underway in the Men’s Southern Open at 7.00am on Sunday with the Women’s Open starting at noon.