After a stunning form reversal at last week’s Web.com Tour event Rhein Gibson has a big opportunity ahead at this week’s Barbasol championship on the PGA TOUR.

The Lismore native has found form at precisely the right time after struggling on the main Tour all year, the field weakened at the opposite week Barbasol tournament courtesy of the game’s biggest stars all being in Scotland for the Open Championship.

Gibson’s play in New York last week was sublime, the PGA TOUR rookie reeling off 25 birdies and an eagle on his way to a four man play-off and he will be keen to maintain that pace this week.

At 206th on the FedEx Cup standings Gibson could go a long way to saving his playing rights for 2016 with a good performance this week.

He needs to play his way into the top 125 to be guaranteed a card while a win this week would obviously solve all those problems.

Gibson is one of eight Australians teeing up in Alabama, Jarrod Lyle also making his return to the TOUR after the birth of his second daughter, Jemma Jayne, in May.

Lyle has three events remaining on his major medical extension and needs to earn $209,111 to win back his card.

He originally planned to play at last week’s Greenbrier Invitational but with that tournament cancelled due to deadly flooding in West Virginia he will now play this week and again at next week’s Canadian Open.

While his long recent layoff makes it unlikely he will earn the required amount to win back his card,  a more modest goal of earning $35,000 would see him qualify for the four event Web.com Tour Finals Series and have a chance to get back to the PGA TOUR via that route.

Gibson and Lyle are joined in this week’s field by Robert Allenby, Aaron Baddeley, Stuart Appleby, Cameron Percy, John Senden and Cameron Smith.

Like Lyle, Stuart Appleby is playing on a medical extension in 2016 and faces a similarly difficult task to his fellow Victorian if he is to play the PGA TOUR again next year.

Appleby has two events remaining to earn $229,505 or he, too, will be contemplating his playing future.

Robert Allenby, who has made just one cut in 18 starts this year, returns for his first tournament since the FedEx St Jude Classic in June and will be hoping for a reversal of form to finish the year.