Defending Vic Open champ Coletta set for a big 2025

Rising golf star Brett Coletta is comfortable having a target on his back at 13th Beach this week when he defends his Vic Open title.

And once that is done, the 28-year-old is just as ready to embrace the unknown on the DP World Tour.

Winning the 2024 Vic Open was vital in lifting Coletta to third spot on the Australasian Tour Order of Merit.

With that came a treasured card on the 2025 DP World Tour - although he will need to make the most of early opportunities to get starts in the big-money events in the northern hemisphere summer.

"The best-case scenario would be to win a European or International Series event and that would riccochet me right up the winners' category and then you're in everything for the next two years," Coletta told AAP on Wednesday.

"That's absolutely the best-case scenario.

"But it's also a matter of working your way up through the categories, getting some top 10s.

"For now it's about focusing on this week to be honest and not getting ahead of myself."

Coletta stormed home with a final round seven-under 65 last year at 13th Beach to claim the biggest win of his career.

It was a massive confidence boost after he previously had some good results on the US secondary tour and gone close to getting a US PGA Tour card before battling homesickness and getting stuck overseas during the COVID lockdowns.

Although the DP World Tour is a whole new ball game, Coletta now has a much better handle on what he needs to do to excel on the global stage.

He's almost certain to get a start in the $US2.5 million ($A4 million) Kenya Open on February 20-23 and will take it from there.

"The biggest challenge at the start will be not knowing if you're in an event or not, because higher-ranked players can withdraw and you might get a late call-up," he said.

"I'm just going to have to do a good job of plotting my way around the world and making sure I'm ready to go whenever I need to be.

"That's the whole challenge - the opportunities you get are going to be good but it's not going to be every week.

"I've been doing this for about 10 years now and in the last couple of years I've really figured out what works for me in terms of time-on, training loads, training intensity, time off, family time, hobby time, all that stuff."

The men's and women's Vic Opens will be contested over the Beach and Creek courses at the 36-hole links layout at 13th Beach beginning on Thursday.

"Everyone out here is trying to beat the defending champion," acknowledged Coletta.

"I feel like I've got a bit more pressure on myself this year to produce again, but I'm going to take it shot by shot."

Former world No.1 Jiyai Shin from South Korea is the red-hot favourite in the women's field.