Stuart Appleby will this week make the second of five allowed Web.com Tour starts as he returns to the PGA TOUR from a major medical extension.

Appleby underwent back surgery
earlier in the year and teed up for the first time since February four weeks
ago at the Nova Scotia event in Canada.

A T36 finish there, particularly
a second round 66, was encouraging for the 44-year-old after such a long break
from the game and he will be looking to build on that this week.

While these events are an ideal
way to get back to competitive golf for the nine time PGA TOUR winner for the
rest of the Australians at this week’s Digital Ally Open in Kansas the stakes
are higher.

The season is winding down and
with cards on both the PGA TOUR and next year’s Web.com Tour on the line over
the coming weeks it’s crunch time for several Australians.

Of the 13 Australians regularly
playing the secondary Tour this season only Rod Pampling, who is playing the
PGA TOUR event this week, is assured of finishing in the top-25 on the money
list and being promoted to the main Tour in 2016.

Rhein Gibson (27th), Mathew
Goggin (29th) and Steve Allan (31st) are on the bubble of the 25 but among the
rest some will struggle just to keep their Web.com status.

To be eligible for the upcoming
four tournament qualifying series where 25 PGA TOUR cards will be added to the
25 already given to the top money winners a player must be among the top-75
earners at season’s end.

With four events before that
series kicks off Oliver Goss is the only Australian presently among that
number, sitting at 62^nd on the money list.

Still with a chance to make the field
with some good play are Bronson La’Cassie (82), Brett Drewitt (89) and James
Nitties (96^th) but none can afford any mistakes in the coming month.

In even more precarious
circumstances are those players outside the top-100 earners who will retain
playing rights for the Web.com Tour in 2016.

At present Aron Price (104),
Alistair Presnell (117), Bryden Macpherson (121), Ash Hall (122) and Adam
Crawford (126) are in danger of missing that criteria and having to return to
the Web.com Tour qualifying school.

Nick Flanagan (161st) has played
12 events this year on a medical extension after undergoing thumb surgery and
is also in danger of losing his status.

On a more positive note
Australians have a good record at this event. Michael Sim (2009) and James
Nitties (2011) are both former winners while Adam Crawford and Aron Price have
also posted top-10’s in the past two years.