Jasper Stubbs is in new territory, but still has a familiar feeling as he confronts his first Open Championship at Royal Troon this week.

The 23-year-old Melbourne amateur has been watching the Open on television in the wee, small hours at home for years; his first memory of the tournament, albeit not a pleasant one, was Adam Scott’s meltdown with four consecutive bogeys to finish in a loss to Ernie Els at Royal Lytham in 2012.

More enjoyable was his visit with family to watch the final day at Royal Liverpool in 2014 when Rory McIlroy had his coronation. “It was an awesome experience,” he said this week. “We waited in the grandstand for six hours on 18 for them all to come through and watched the winning putt.”

Stubbs in the field at Troon as a benefit of having won the Asia-Pacific Amateur at Royal Melbourne last October, a victory that also secured a start for him in the Masters at Augusta National in April, where he missed the cut.

He is one of six Australians playing this week.

The Peninsula Kingswood member and member of Golf Australia’s High Performance programs has been in Europe for an extended period including a trip to play the European Amateur, and he had already played Troon twice prior to this week as part of his preparation.

Consecutive birdies on the famous eighth, the Postage Stamp, were a highlight of his practise; downwind a the 623-yard (580-metre) par-5 sixth hole he got home with a 3-iron, but also noticed players not reaching with 3 woods on a different day.

He senses a desire with the tees pushed back for a tougher test after Henrik Stenson’s record-breaking win at Troon in 2016 at 20-under par ahead of Phil Mickelson in one of the sport’s greatest head-to-head duels.

“It’s an amazing golf course,” Stubbs said. “It’s obviously pretty close to a true links. It’s seven out, two in a little loop and nine back in. It’s cool to play golf that way.

“I like it, but it’s a brutal golf course once that wind gets up. The back nine is going to play super tough with a few new tees they’ve put in since Phil and Stenson played here. They want some higher scores, I think.”

Stubbs’ experience at the Masters was incredible and he feels that it has prepared him well for this week. “It was my first major. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect that week. Coming into this week I’ve got more expectation of what major golf looks like, I’ve seen what the best in the world do, and I think I’ve adapted to what they do.

“It feels a bit more like home, but it’s still going to be a nerve-wracking. I’m going to get on the first tee and I’ll be nervous, but that’s cool.”

Stubbs is not planning to rush into turning pro. He is headed soon to the United States to play the US Amateur and the Western Amateur, and also intends playing the Asia-Pacific Amateur in Japan later this year. “From there, we’ll see how we go,” he said.