Stuart Appleby will lead the Australian charge to claim the last available Masters berth by winning this week’s Shell Houston Open, a tournament he has won twice already in his PGA TOUR career.

Appleby won the event at its current venue, The Golf Club of Houston, in 2006 but was also victorious in 1999 at the TPC Woodlands.

Add in a playoff loss to Masters defending champion Adam Scott in 2007 and the Victorian seems Australia’s strongest candidate to perhaps join the field for the 2014 Masters.

Appleby’s form has been inconsistent this year with a missed cut at the Arnold Palmer event and a T72 result last week in Texas but the lure of a return to Augusta should be a powerful motivator for the 43-year-old.

Also champing at the bit to get back to Augusta is fellow Victorian Geoff Ogilvy who arrives in Houston on the back of his best result of the current season, a T11 in Texas.

That performance is mainly due to a drastic improvement in putting where Ogilvy has jumped in the strokes gained category from 155th last year to 93rd this year.

While far from the dizzying heights of being one of the top-20 putters on Tour in 2011 it will give the 2006 US Open winner a much needed boost of confidence on the greens.

Combined with good memories from a runner-up finish at this event in 2008 and a T6 in 2009 this could be the week Ogilvy kick starts a return to the top of the game.

Of the other six Australians in the field Aaron Baddeley finished T4 here in 2011 while Greg Chalmers was T8 the same year.

Both are having indifferent seasons so far, Chalmers finding the going especially tough in recent weeks having not broken 70 since the Valspar Championship three weeks ago.

Matt Jones is coming off a two week break and a strong showing at the Arnold Palmer Invitational though his form at this venue is indifferent, a T38 in 2013 his best in several attempts.

Scott Gardiner has only played here once before, missing the cut last year, while it would seem a tall order for Steven Bowditch to back up after his performance in Texas last week.

Robert Allenby rounds out the Australian contingent though his less than stellar form continues.

The two time TOUR winner hasn’t broken 70 since the Northern Trust Open in February and missed last week’s cut in Texas by a shot.