Others' success on the Asian and US tours has helped two talented Australians into the field for this week's New Zealand Open at The Grange.
Wade Ormsby and Paul Marantes, who gained their full European Tour cards with superb form, thought their seasons would start with the South African event this
week, but missed out.
They were then too late to make the field directly for the Auckland event and were listed only as alternates, forcing them to hot-foot it to today's final qualifying tournament at Manukau Golf Club.
Seventy-five golfers will fight for the final 30 places in the field for the Holden-sponsored Open which starts on Thursday.
However, six players withdrew from the Open yesterday after gaining starts in both Asian and US Tour events.
That opened the way for Ormsby and Marantes to gain direct starts in Auckland.
Australian Scott Hend and New Zealand's Grant Waite have both been confirmed in the start list for this week's US PGA tour tournament in Hawaii, while four other Australians have reached the final stage of the Asian Tour qualifying.
Waite had informed organisers that he would return to the Open if he missed a spot in the Hawaiian event.
Ormsby, a 23-year-old from Adelaide, gained his European card after finishing second in the final qualifying tournament.
Marantes, from Sydney, was eighth at the qualifying school just four shots behind Ormsby.
Today's field for the final qualifying includes a smattering of Australian, Korean and New Zealand professionals, and several leading amateurs from both Australia and New Zealand.
It includes 15-year-old Jae An from Rotorua, who finished second in the New Zealand under-23 championships in Hastings on Saturday.
