Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby and Nick O'Hern fly the flag for the host country when the Australian Masters gets underway in Melbourne on Thursday.

Allenby defends the title he won last year when he became the first player to achieve the Australian triple crown of victories in the Masters, PGA and Open championships.

World number 23 Appleby secured his own triple crown when he won the US PGA Tour's Mercedes Championship in January for the third year in a row.

O'Hern, a consistent left-hander, is ranked 34th in the world.

A strong field at the Masters, jointly sanctioned by the European and Australasian tours, will also include World Match Play champion Paul Casey and 2005 US Open winner Michael Campbell.

Campbell, who won the event six years ago, said he was looking forward to returning to Huntingdale.

"I love competing against good fields...it's what gets me up in the morning," the New Zealander told the European Tour's official website.

"The changes they have made to the course over the years have been fantastic and the crowds in Melbourne are amazing. I played with Greg Norman in the 1994 Australian Masters and it was fun, it was like being in a major, an incredible atmosphere."

Justin Rose returns to the European Tour fold after a successful campaign in the United States.

The 26-year-old Briton claimed six top-10 finishes as he ended the season 47th on the money list.

The tournament will be played at Huntingdale for the 28th consecutive year and is the first of two events co-sanctioned with the Australasian Tour, preceding the New Zealand Open in Auckland.

Four Irish players are competing this week. Regular tour players Damien McGrane, Peter Lawrie and Gary Murphy are joined by David Walker.