Queenslander Anthony Quayle’s solid start to the 2017 ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia season has seen him jump over 40 spots in the tournament exemption categories to set up the rest his rookie year.

Quayle has certainly climbed the ranks the long way, kicking off his 2017 season through Qualifying School with a 31^st place finish leaving him little opportunity for automatic exemption on to the Tour, forcing him to Monday qualify for tournaments.

The 22-year-old has made the cut in all but one of seven tournaments he’s competed in so far this season with five finishes in the top-15.

“One of my goals was to play all of the events on the PGA Tour of Australasia schedule in my rookie year,” Quayle said who currently sits 27th on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.

“The re-rank gave me the chance to do that providing I played well. I feel like I’ve played nicely this year so it’s satisfying to see myself atop the re-rank after the first half of the season.”

Thanks to his new ranking, Quayle will no longer need to play in pre-qualifying events prior to tournaments on the schedule, although his preparation leading in to opening rounds won’t change drastically.

“I wouldn’t say there will be any major overhauls with regards to my preparation. If anything this will give me more time to prepare for the bigger events and allow myself to be completely ready,” added Quayle.

“When you have to pre-qualify for events like I had to earlier this season, you are behind the eight-ball from the get go. You have to have a practice round at the course the pre-qualifying is at, then compete, then try catch up on practice rounds and preparations for the tournament course.

“It can result in a long week and burn up a lot of energy. It will be refreshing playing the rest of the season with the freedom to prepare how I’d like to.”

Now with an opportunity to play in tournaments littered with international talent like the Fiji International, Quayle says his experience already in the ISPS HANDA New Zealand Open against a high quality field will ensure he’s not overawed by the occasion.

“I feel I have been progressing nicely throughout my short career as a Professional and I believe that I can compete at that level,” Quayle added.

“I had a top-15 finish in my first trip to the New Zealand Open which gave me a lot of confidence in events of that caliber.”

The jump in rankings for this season has now made the prospect of having to attend the Qualifying School for the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia again very unlikely which opens a couple of doors for Quayle internationally.

The new gap in his tournament schedule allows him to plan to attack both the Japan Golf Tour and European Tour Qualifying Schools following the end of the 2017 season.

“My plan is to attend Japanese and European Tour Q-Schools at the end of the year. I feel that is the next step in my development as a player and look forward to competing Professionally on an international stage.

“It’ll make for a pretty busy back end of the season but I’m looking forward to the challenge and competing wherever I can.”

Quayle continues his 2017 season at next month’s Fiji International from 17-20 August, to view the remainder of the events on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia visit pga.org.au.