Australian Steve Elkington will be the star attraction at this year's Macau Open where he will face strong opposition from title-holder Wang Ter-chang of Taiwan and sentimental favourite Zhang Lianwei of China.

Elkington, the 1995 US PGA Championship winner, will start as firm favourite at the US$300,000 tournament - an increase of US$25,000 from last year - at the Macau Golf and Country Club on Coloanne Island from May 18-21.

'I'm looking forward to visiting Macau for the first time,' said Elkington. 'I have heard a lot of great things about the Macau Open and know that many world-class players like Vijay Singh, Fred Couples, Mark O'Meara, Nick Price and Padraig Harrington have played there before. I understand the Macau Golf and Country Club is a challenging test and I'm eager to have a look at the course.'