Matt Millar's back problem flared up again, throwing the Canberra golfer's Australian summer up in the air.
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His injury forced him to withdraw from the Australian PGA Championship on the Gold Coast on Friday, part way through the second round.
It means he'll lose his Australasian tour card next year and have to rely on sponsors to grant him entry into tournaments.
His win in the Rebel Sport Masters in New Zealand in January last year guaranteed his status on the tour until the end of 2019, but because he'll finish outside the top 50 on the order of merit he loses his card.
Millar's currently 71st on the money list.
"I'm not too sure what's going to happen to be honest. I'll lose my card this season here in Australia," he said.
"I'll be speaking with the tour and some of the promoters of the events, and try and secure a place in the field by sponsor's invite.
"I'm confident I can get some of those. Whether or not you'll get all the tournaments I don't know.
"If I could get a few next year that could give me a chance to regain that card.
"I've got to make sure I'm right for in maybe a few weeks' time for anything that might happen here for me."
That's if he's back playing golf.
It's the same back problem Millar had in September and October this year, which cleared up following an injection.
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He's fine doing everything else, like going to the gym or gardening, but as soon as he swings a golf club he gets a shooting pain near the T6 and T7 vertebrae of his spine.
Millar will continue to consult with doctors to find out exactly what's wrong, but that could prove tricky over the Christmas period.
He was advised not to play on Friday, but battled on for eight holes before calling it quits.
The 43-year-old was unable to practice after the problem flared up on Tuesday and it also forced him to withdraw from the pro-am on Wednesday.
It meant his first look at the Royal Pines course was in the opening round, where he struggled with his back and his putter.
He finished the first round five over par and would have needed a good second round to make the cut.
"I'm trying to get some advice from our tour doctor on which way to go from here," Millar said.
"I had some injections there a couple of months back and I thought that had shut it up for two or three months at least.
"But apparently they only last four or five weeks those ones. I didn't know that, but I got eight weeks out of that which I suppose was a good result.
"I just needed it to go five more days really. So I'm not real sure what the way forward is at the moment
"I can do anything I like outside of golf ... won't feel a thing from it.
"The minute you start swinging a golf club, it's like a sharp pain you get where you ribs attach to your spine on the right-hand side in the middle. It's pretty uncomfortable."
While Millar's not guaranteed any more starts in Australia, he does have some places on the Japan Tour in April - where fellow Canberran Brendan Jones has been plying his trade for years.
He's hoping a good start in Asia will help him climb the order of merit and solidify his spot on the tour.
"I'll have some status in Japan starting in April," Millar said.
"I should get three, maybe four, before they have their re-rank. And they usually re-rank the numbers after about eight or nine events.
"The schedule for that will come out on Christmas Eve, so I should know more about that then.
"But if I can get three or four starts, just make a few dollars there you can certainly improve your numbers from the qualifying school there.
"That's how you shuffle up and once you make a bit of money and shuffle up then you can play a whole bunch of events through the middle of the year.
"You'll probably get seven or eight weeks in a row in the middle of the year.
"That's how you do it in Japan when you just get your card."