Players are battling for places in the DP World Tour Play-Offs and their futures on Tour at this week's Genesis Championship.
Matthew Southgate insists the pressure of trying to keep his card is nothing new as he battles to get into the top 114 on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex and keep his playing privileges for next season.
The Englishman is one of a host of players fighting for their livelihoods at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club, with an opening 70 in Incheon moving him in the right direction but still leaving him on the outside looking at 123rd.
This is the first time in his DP World Tour career that the 36-year-old - who started the week 127th - has found himself not comfortably either side of the line coming into the final event of the regular season but he insists pressure is part of the everyday for a professional golfer.
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“I left school when I was 16 and every shot I have hit has mattered anyway," he said. "We either play golf that is under pressure, or you play casual golf that is just fun, and I don’t get the opportunity to play much casual golf.
"My brain is very much trained into thinking the next shot is [something] I put everything into wherever I am, if I have made the cut or coming dead last, I will still try my absolute heart out.
"We are always under pressure. There is always something to play for. Everybody here has got something to play for. People are trying to get into Abu Dhabi, trying to keep cards, trying to get into Dubai, trying to get into The Open, trying to get a PGA TOUR card.
"Everybody has their motive for why they are trying to get out of bed in the morning and feeling jangly on the first. You don’t become immune to that, but you do get used to that.
"I just feel like I am playing golf under pressure, and I have been doing that for 20 years, so it is crack on and try your hardest on every shot.”
Santiago Tarrio entered the week in a better position than Southgate at 116th but after a three-over 75, the Spaniard revealed in the Green Room he now believes he will need a "miracle" to avoid a trip to the Qualifying School.
Marcel Schneider teed off on Thursday with his fate firmly in his own hands at 111th and was understandably chipper after an opening 68 moved him up seven places.
It is not just those battling at the wrong end of the Race to Dubai who are trying to pick up vital points, however, with the top 70 at the end of this week heading to the DP World Tour Play-Offs.
Those 70 will make it to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, with the top 50 after that heading to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship where Nicolai Højgaard is defending champion.
As it stands, the Dane will not be defending his title and while he slipped to 80th after a level par 72, he was still feeling positive about his prospects.
Richard Mansell and Alejandro del Rey have both been in the top 70 since their opening results of the season and while the Englishman was choosing not to focus on his position of 66th, the Spaniard was all about defending his 68th place, as both men moved up after rounds of 67 and 68 respectively.
Also inside the top 70 heading into the week is Shubhankar Sharma, with the Indian fully focused on the need for strong results - both this week and in Abu Dhabi next month - if he is to be among the top 50 who will contest the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
One man chasing that trio is Casey Jarvis and an opening 67 had him comfortably going to the UAE after starting the week in 77th, although he was choosing to take it one shot at a time.
