The path of Jarrod Lyle’s immediate playing future is both confusing and more defined, all in one crazy week.
Lyle, on his website’s latest blog, is trying to gain a start in this week’s Travelers Championship, in Connecticut, on the main US PGA Tour as he tries desperately to gain playing status for season 2016/17.
Lyle, whose major medical exemption is about to expire, needs three people to withdraw to gain entry, or he could play a “Monday qualifier” tomorrow and play his way into the field.
Should neither eventuate by Tuesday afternoon, he will be faced with the tough choice of staying put in Hartford and playing the waiting game or fly to Kansas City where he’ll have automatic rights to play on the Web.com Tour.
“It's very hard to figure out what to do,” Lyle wrote.
“My heart says I should get into the Travelers, but then there is a doubt that I won't. Regardless of the result come Monday I will be playing somewhere, but right now I don't know where.”
Lyle said he was confident he would get a start in next week’s John Deere, “so it is nice to know I that I will be playing two weeks in a row”.
And finally, the maths is clear.
“I need to make, as a worst-case figure, $28,561 to be eligible for the Web.com playoffs,” he wrote.
“This will give me four tournaments to play in September to get myself back on to the (main) Tour. If I make these events, then I will have Web.com status for next year also, so right now this is the scenario that would be a good one.”
As positive as ever, the Victorian said there was “still a lot of fight left in this old dog”, especially after watching fellow Aussie Greg Chalmers succeed at the recent Barracuda Classic.
“There is always the `go and win a tournament’ scenario,” Lyle wrote.
“This would take care of a lot of things and be the best way to go. I will channel my best Greg Chalmers on this and try and make it a reality.”