With the world golf spotlight focused brightly on Florida for The PLAYERS’ Championship this week four Australians will be toiling on the other side of the world in a tournament with the potential to change careers.

The bulk of the European Tour’s biggest stars will be in Florida which means the Portugal Open will be co-sanctioned by both the main European Tour and the secondary Challenge Tour.

The winner will receive not only the first place cheque but full exemption to the European Tour till the end of 2018, a prize of much higher value than the winner’s share of the purse.

Ben Eccles, Nick Cullen, Ryan McCarthy and Daniel Fox have all earned starts at the tournament and all will be looking for a life changing week at the Morgado Golf Resort.

A win is the obvious goal for all in the field but the event is significant for Challenge Tour members for another reason.

It offers the largest purse of the season and a good finish this week could set up a player for a run at the top 15 at season’s end and status on the European Tour.

With the tournament being played at a new venue this year, and the first co-sanctioned event between the two Tours since the 2015 Madeira Islands Open, none of the field have any significant history to draw on leaving the result wide open.

While Cullen is the best credentialed of the four Australians in the field second year Professional Ben Eccles has made big leaps with his game in the past 12 months and will be one to watch this week.

He parlayed an invitation to the Tshwane Open earlier in the year into a top 10 result and looks ready to take his game to the next level.