Aaron Baddeley and Greg Chalmers experienced contrasting early fortunes as they fight to save their lengthy US PGA Tour careers.
The two-time Australian Open champions are the biggest names at risk of demotion among the Australian contingent scrapping it out at the last-chance saloon - the Web.com Tour Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.
Baddeley and Chalmers both need a big week to earn one of 25 PGA Tour cards on offer in the final event of the secondary tour's playoffs series.
A three-time PGA Tour winner, Baddeley shot an opening three-under par 67 to be tied 12th, four shots behind Australian leader Rhein Gibson.
But Chalmers is in real trouble after a 76 left him almost last in the field.
Veteran Robert Allenby is also playing and shot a 69 but he can fall back on a last exemption based on career earnings to stay on the main tour next year if necessary, as seems likely.
The 29-year-old Gibson once shot a Guinness World Record lowest round of 16-under 55 used he that talent to produce a seven-under 63 and lead led by one shot from Americans Lucas Glover and Sam Saunders and Mexico's Oscar Fraustro.
He played the web.com Tour this year and entered the week at No.18 on the Finals money list, likely needing a decent performance to secure a place inside the top 25 and US PGA Tour promotion.
"I've shot some low numbers," Gibson told the PGA Tour website.
"I'm not afraid to go low. That's a good thing for this tour, anyway."
His fabulous 55 was shot in a money game with a group of pros and amateurs in May 2012 at River Oaks Golf Club in Edmond, Oklahoma.
The 29-year-old US college product isn't putting too much pressure on himself.
"I would love to get my Tour card, but at the end of the day, I know I've got a job on the Web.com Tour next year," he said.
"A lot of people have said to me that it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to play the Web.com Tour next year, just to get another year of experience."
The tournament is the fourth and final event in the series for the top 75 players from the Web.com Tour money list, Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup standings and non-members who earned enough money to have placed in the top 200 had they been eligible to receive points.
The top 25 players on the Web.com Tour regular-season money list earned PGA Tour cards.
They are competing against each other for tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals. The other players are fighting for 25 cards based on series earnings.
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