Australian Rod Pampling fulfilled a dream today when he officially won back his US PGA Tour card.
Pampling, who played 12 full seasons on the big stage from 2002, finished 17th in the Web.Com Tour standings after the final regular-season event today, earning back his 2015/16 playing rights.
Despite several other chances before the Portland event, won by veteran Dicky Pride, the 45-year-old Queenslander was the only Aussie to earn automatic promotion from the top 25.
Pampling won the BMW Charity Pro-Am in May, one of three top-10s in a quality year in which he was also runner-up in the Emirates Australian Open, thereby qualifying for his eighth Open Championship.
Steve Allan (31), Rhein Gibson (33) and Mathew Goggin (34) were already confirmed into the secondary tour’s finals series as part of the top 75, to be joined by players 126-200 on the primary tour in the fight for the last remaining 25 PGA Tour cards.
And they were joined by Perth youngster Oliver Goss, who clung to 74th position after a nervous weekend.
The Golf Australia rookie pro opened with rounds of 68-67 to be projected well inside the top-75 after round two, but a third-round 74 dropped Goss back into the ruck.
But an even-par 71 was enough for him to keep his head above the cut line.
The season is over for several other Aussies, some of whom face a return to Q-School to get back to the secondary tour.
Bronson La'Cassie (89), Brett Drewitt (93) and Aron Price (100) will retain partial Web.Com Tour playing privileges after finishing in the top 100.
But Bryden Macpherson, Adam Crawford, Alistair Presnell, Ash Hall, Nick Flanagan and James Nitties all need to advance from Q-School to go around again next year.
From the main tour, Cameron Percy (150), Aaron Baddeley (157), Greg Chalmers (172) and Robert Allenby (187) will all be part of the finals series.
Geoff Ogilvy (154) won't tee up as his exemption for winning the 2014 Barracuda Championship has another season to run.
The finals begin in a fortnight and end at the Web.Com Tour Championship at TPC Sawgrass, near Jacksonville, in the first week of October, while Q-School will be held in December.