The Stanford University graduate, known as “Koala Karl”, ended the year in 19th position on the KFT standings, while Higgs finished eighth and Del Solar 14th.

“It’s awesome to have the chance to come home and play in the ISPS Handa Australian Open in Melbourne for the first time to end a really memorable year,” Vilips said.

“I’ve been able to play some of the Sandbelt courses as an amateur, but to get to play Kingston Heath and Victoria in my national Open, alongside players like Min Woo Lee and Cam Smith, is going to be a huge highlight.

“I can’t wait to play in front of the Aussie crowds and seeing plenty of family and friends while I’m home.”

The affable Higgs, who has won twice on the KFT in 2024, has been a popular figure on the PGA Tour where his best results have included two runner-up finishes and T-4 at the 2021 US PGA Championship.

“Australia has always been on my destination list,” Higgs said. “It’s all worked out for me to come down to play both of the Aussie majors this year which I’m sure is going to be a great experience.

“It will be a real honour to play in both the Australian Open and Australian PGA in front of the Aussie fans.”

Del Solar’s 2024 highlight was a four-shot victory in The Ascendent, his fifth worldwide success.

“Seeing my great mate Joaquin play so well in Australia last year and hearing from him how much he enjoyed the country, the golf courses and the atmosphere of the events, made it an easy decision to come down and experience it for myself,” he said.

Just 20 years old, Potgieter is headed for the PGA Tour in 2025 after a huge year on the KFT in 2024, including becoming the youngest winner in the tour’s history, beating the record held by Day, when he won the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic in January.

Although he was born in Mossel Bay on South Africa’s Southern Cape, Potgieter moved to Perth with his family when he was a child, eventually becoming a member of Golf WA’s High Performance Program.

A member at Joondalup Country Club, he won the South Australian Junior Masters by nine shots in 2020, the 2021 WA Amateur and was second in the 2021 Australian Boys’ Amateur before, at just 17, becoming the second youngest winner in the history of the British Amateur Championship.

The two-shot win in the Bahamas, thanks to a closing 65, was followed by two other top-10 finishes to see Potgieter finish 29th in the end-of-season standings.

“Growing up in WA, I always enjoyed watching the big tournaments each summer every year in Australia,” Potgieter said.

“I can’t wait to get to Royal Queensland and experience everything about the BMW Australian PGA Championship. There’s plenty of the guys I came through the amateurs with who are now professional who I’m looking forward to catching up with.

“And then there’s the challenge of going up against players like Jason Day, Cam Smith, Min Woo Lee and Cam Davis.”