Campbell broke a decade-long drought at the Bathurst Golf Club with a four-stroke win over fellow Duntryleague gun Robert Payne in the 2014 edition of the open. The 2014 win sitting alongside successes in 2004 and 1999 for Campbell.

Now with Payne out of the running for this year’s title having won last year but missing the chance to nominate for the 2016 field, Campbell is looming likely as a serious chance of claiming a fourth Bathurst Open crown, when the 36-hole event tees off on Saturday morning.

Campbell has been grouped alongside fellow Duntryleague hopes Grant Barrett, Michael Campbell and Peter Ferguson.

“Andy would be a big show for sure,” Bathurst Golf Club secretary-manager Brad Constable said.

“I think the only thing going against the Orange guys at the moment is a lack of match practice, we’ve had ridiculous amount of people coming down from there to play because they haven’t been able to get on.

“When they have got on, their par-fours have been turned into par-threes. It has been horrendous for them.”

Of the other contenders, Constable is backing Reece Hodson as a big chance to keep the title in Bathurst.

Hodson won the Bathurst club championship for the fourth time earlier this year and is the sort of player who could snare the open too.

Constable believes a Payne-less field is set to ensure the 2016 edition is a more open affair.

“Payney, he’s just one of those blokes, he’s made to win. You name any open in the Central West and he’s 99.9 percent sure to have his name on it,” Constable said.

“For sure I’d love to see someone from Bathurst win. It has sort of thrown me a bit with Payney not playing, he is your go-to man for thinking who is going to win.

“Definitely Reece would be a massive chance and Dylan (Thompson), he came back from America having played in the college system, so he would be a big chance too.”

Ben Cummings, who has been the best placed local the last two years, will return for another bid this weekend.

“Darrell Bourke is a former winner ... there’s David Lilly – he’s a low marker and on his day he can shoot the lights out as well,” Constable added.