As tempting as a title defence was, Harrison Crowe's "absolutely amazing" 12 months taught him he was ready for the next step.
The Asia-Pacific Amateur champion will begin life as a professional in the WA Open at Joondalup Country Club from Thursday.
It means he won't be one of the 10 Australian amateurs at Royal Melbourne later this month when the course welcomes back the tournament Crowe won in Thailand last year.