Lee Westwood said two months ago that not caring made him a “dangerous golfer”.

Victorian Marcus Fraser appears to have adopted a similar mindset having surprised even himself at last week’s Maybank Championship in Malaysia.

Fraser is one of nine Australians teeing it up at the Hero Indian Open at DLF Golf and Country Club this week, playing on an invitation after finishing tied for 48th in Malaysia last week.

The 40-year-old shot to the top of the leaderboard after the opening round at Saujana Golf and Country Club with a 7-under 65 and hinted that, like Westwood, adopting a more carefree mindset could be key to unlocking more strong performances in the future.

“I’m definitely a part-time golfer these days,” Fraser explained.

“It’s nice to go out on the golf course and it doesn’t mean as much as it used to.

“I think when you’ve got that mind-set it probably helps.

“I was more surprised than anyone going out there and shooting 7-under.

“I’ve been playing well having a hit at home but I haven’t played a whole lot of competitive golf.

“It was nice to go out and play well in a great tournament.”

Third in his first start at the Indian Open in 2015, Fraser was tied for 60th where he was 13-over for the weekend in extremely difficult scoring conditions, 18 rounds of 80 or more recorded over the final two rounds at the Gary Player-designed layout.

Wade Ormsby was one of only 19 players to better par in the final round 12 months ago to finish tied for 25th, the fourth consecutive year he had qualified for the weekend at DLF Golf and Country Club.

Riding high after his win at the Maybank Championship last week and up 119 spots to be ranked No.134 in the world, Queensland’s Scott Hend has made the cut just once in four previous starts at the Indian Open.

Other Australians in the field this week are Sam Brazel, Jason Norris, Terry Pilkadaris, Daniel Nisbet, David Gleeson, Jake Higginbottom along with New Zealand’s Ben Campbell.

Next week’s Christmas lunch will taste that just little bit sweeter after seven Australians secured their playing rights on the Asian Tour for 2019.

New South Welshman Steven Jeffress was the best performer at the season-ending BNI Indonesian Masters won by Thailand’s Poom Saksansin but it was the all-important Habitat for Humanity Order of Merit that served as the ultimate leaderboard.

Entering the week in 60th position – the cut-off to retain playing rights for the following year – Marcus Fraser opened with a 1-over 73 at Royal Jakarta Golf Club but recovered with a 68 in the second round to qualify for the weekend, his finishing position of tied for 28th just enough to hold steady in 60th spot.

Andrew Dodt was forced to endure a nervous wait over the weekend after missing the cut but dropped just one place on the Order of Merit to end the year in 58th spot, giving him the option to play in Asia next year or a limited schedule in Europe after he was unable to keep his card on the European Tour.

Daniel Nisbet’s win at the New Zealand Open earlier in the year provided the backbone of his Asian Tour season, the Queenslander the highest-placed Aussie on the Order of Merit in 26th position.

Like Nisbet, Terry Pilkadaris missed the cut in Indonesia but comfortably kept his card by finishing 32nd on the Order of Merit with New Zealand’s Ben Campbell, Jake McLeod, Jake Higginbottom and Travis Smyth the others to finish inside the top-60.

Ironically, the two best performing Australians this week were two of the players to just miss out on keeping their cards.

Jeffress recorded his fourth top-20 result of the year to move up six places to 71st on the moneylist while Jarryd Felton’s tie for 20th saw him rise three places to 70th.

Needing a big week to make inroads into the top-60, Andrew Martin was tied for 57th at the completion of four rounds to end the year in 63rd position while a 6-over 78 in the third round proved costly for Josh Younger, his tie for 35th seeing him finish 69th on the Order of Merit.

Although he made the cut, Maverick Antcliff’s tie for 49th saw him drop one spot on the moenylist to be 77th with Kiwi Gareth Paddison, Matt Stieger, David Gleeson and Adam Blyth also failing to qualify for the weekend.

Stage One of Asian Tour Qualifying School kicks off on Wednesday at the Lakeview Resort and Golf CLub in Hua Hin, Thailand where Aussies Cameron John, Dale Brandt-Richards, Rubendra Lal and Shae Wools-Cobb and New Zealand amateur Shiv Sabherwal will be out to progress to final stage that begins on Boxing Day.

How fitting that it comes down to this.

As most of his countrymen are downing tools for a well-earned Christmas break, Marcus Fraser is playing the BNI Indonesian Masters with a revised playing schedule somewhat on the line.

Defending champion and world No.2 Justin Rose and major champion Henrik Stenson headline a strong field at Royal Jakarta Golf Club that includes Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Shubhankar Sharma, Anibarn Lahiri and four-time winner this year, South Africa’s Justin Harding.

It was back at the Fiji International that Fraser first aired his intention to play predominantly in Australia and Asia after 16 years of plying his trade on the European Tour, determined to dedicate more time to his family from 2019 onwards.

Now, having finished fourth at the Emirates Australian Open, the man from the Murray River comes into the Asian Tour’s final event of the season – his ninth in Asia this year – 60th on the Order of Merit and in need of a decent result to retain his card for 2019.

Fraser is one of a number of Australians sitting around the top-60 cut-off that determines who retains full playing privileges for next year and who will be required to return to Q School later this month.

A two-time winner on the Asian Tour, Fraser broke a six-year winless drought at the 2016 Maybank Championship in Malaysia and sits less than $1,500 in front of 61st-placed Nicholas Fung.

Fellow European Tour regular Andrew Dodt failed to retain his card and sits 57th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, a solid week enough to provide the Queenslander with his own sense of security having received an invitation to play in the event.

For those on the outside of the top-60 looking in, New South Welshman Andrew Martin needs to bank a cheque of around $10,000 this week to move inside the top-60 from his current position of 63rd while Josh Younger, Jarryd Felton, Maverick Antcliff and Steven Jeffress all sit between 70th and 77th position.

The likes of Daniel Nisbet, Terry Pilkadaris, Jake Higginbottom and Kiwi Ben Campbell all sit comfortably inside the top-60 and are playing this week where they will be joined in the field by Scott Hend, Matt Stieger, Adam Blyth, David Gleeson and New Zealand left-hander Gareth Paddison.

Australian Olympian Marcus Fraser came out in support of Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision and took home the win in a star studded field.

Current and former AFL footballers including Brendon Goddard, Harry Taylor, Sam Newman, Robert DiPierdomenico and Doug Wade joined local amateurs and PGA Professionals including former Victorian Open winners Richard Green and his wife Marianne Skarpnord at Maddie’s Day on the Purple at the Clifton Springs Golf Club.

The decision by the Clifton Springs Golf Club to add a charity element to their annual pro-am saw the event raise over $25,000 to support Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision, a charity set up to raise funds to support research into the Bone Marrow Failure Syndrome that claimed her life in 2015.

Adding a personal touch to the day were guests of honour Joe and Fiona Riewoldt (Maddie’s parents) who were on hand to accept the cheque on behalf of the charity.

On course, scoring was tough with the breeze strengthening throughout the day making the small, slick greens even trickier.

Despite the high quality field only five players were under par at the completion of play with Marcus Fraser topping the leaderboard on 3-under 68.

“That wind was gusting all over the place but it was more the greens.  I can’t remember putting on greens like those, especially downhill,” said Fraser.

Fraser was convinced to delay his upcoming European Tour commitments by close friend Goddard who is an ambassador for the charity.

“I fly out tomorrow lunchtime for the Singapore Open, then to Dubai, Malaysia and Perth,” added Fraser.

“I then have a couple of weeks off before heading onto New Zealand, India and the Philippines, so I’ve got a pretty busy schedule coming up.

“It’s nice to come out and play especially for such a great charity and to all the sponsors that have done such a great job in raising so much for Maddie’s Vision today, $25,000 in one day is a huge contribution so thank you.”

The Ladbrokes Pro-Am Series continues on Thursday 18 January at Keysborough Golf Club for the Dingley Village Bendigo Bank Pro-Am before heading to the country with stops at Neanger Park and then RACV Goldfields for the first pro-am played in the Super 6 format made famous by the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth.