Two-time cancer survivor Jarrod Lyle is confident his extensive fitness training will be the key to his earning a US PGA tour card as the new season begins in California.
Lyle, who joins nine other Australians at the 2015-16 season opener at the Frys.com Open at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, spent the past five months sharpening his game - and more importantly his strength and fitness - back in Australia.
Playing on a medical exemption after miraculously returning to the big stage after surviving leukaemia for the second time, Lyle cut his first attempt at earning a card last season short after realising his game wasn't competitive enough.
It has left the Victorian with 10 events to earn $US217,680 ($A299,772) for full status on tour, which loosely translates to 10 top-40 finishes, or of course one or two really good weeks.
He only needs $US44,465 to get conditional status and a fitter Lyle is brimming with confidence.
"I feel like my game is in a lot better position than it was last season and obviously I am fitter and stronger so now it's about giving everything I have in these 10 events left to keep my job," Lyle said.
"The finish line is coming up a lot quicker now and I have to be always 100 per cent ready to go. I wasn't last season but now I feel I am.
"I have enjoyed training harder. I have never been a huge advocate of it in the past but there are not many fat golfers left in the world.
"I am never going to be a skinny golfer but I was doing all the right work on my game but something needed to change and the only thing that stood out was the fitness side of it.
"Hopefully all the work I have been doing will help."
While he hasn't played a tournament in almost five months it didn't take long for his competitive drive to return in this week's early pro-am, with 13-year-old American phenom Lucy Li's efforts narrowing his focus.
She dropped in a monster birdie putt on their opening hole "and I said to my caddie, she might annihilate me today".
"But it got my competitiveness going and I stood up on the next tee and made a hole in one so that was nice," Lyle laughed.
"I am really looking forward to putting my game in tournament conditions again."
Lyle's T31 at Silverado a year ago was his best result in his 10 2014-15 starts.
Steven Bowditch, fresh from his appearance at the Presidents Cup, headlines the rest of the Australians in a field that includes world No.3 Rory McIlroy.
Cameron Smith and Rhein Gibson make their debuts as full playing members while Matt Jones, Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Allenby and John Senden are also looking to get off to a flying start.
Stuart Appleby joins Lyle as a medical exemption into the field while Aaron Baddeley has secured a rare start as a past champion on tour and is hoping to potentially stave off his demotion to the secondary tour this season.
World No.2 Jason Day is not scheduled to start his official season until the new year but Adam Scott is due to play in two Asian based tour events in November on his way to the Australian Open.
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