There are just 36 holes left of the regular season on the European Tour and there is still much to be decided at the Portugal Masters.
There is not just a trophy on offer on Sunday, as those who have not enjoyed the seasons they may have wanted battle to keep their places on Tour.
As things stand after today's cut, the top 116 in the Race to Dubai Rankings Presented by Rolex will keep their Tour cards, but expect more change as things shake out over the weekend.
Here, we take a look at some of the players who are in control of their own destiny and some who are not.
Oliver Fisher - Started 112th - Projected 54th
The man who carded a 59 here last season has started 65-65 to put himself in pole position to not only keep his card but also claim a second European Tour win. Fisher has finished 90th or lower in seven of his 12 European Tour seasons but has only failed to retain his playing privileges once. He is odds on to avoid the fate of 2009 but is taking nothing for granted. "The thing with golf is anything can happen, just as I proved last year," he said. "I’m on the same score as I was at this stage last year in this tournament. I shot 71-59 and this year I’ve shot two 65s."
Jeunghun Wang - Started 119th - Projected 78th
A three time winner on the European Tour, Wang looks to have found his form at exactly the right time after claiming a tie for fifth last month at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and then carding his lowest round of the season en route to a Rolex Series top ten at the Italian Open. A 66-65 start has him just a single shot behind Fisher. "I don’t think about it," he said of the Rankings. "I just came here to win a golf tournament - I don’t want to think about it."
Justin Walters - Started 121st - Projected 80th
Another man just a shot behind the leader is Walters and he knows a thing or two about keeping his card in Vilamoura. He holed a monster putt for a par on the last in 2013 to finish second and stay on Tour, prompting an emotional celebration after he had sadly lost his mother weeks earlier. He arrives under a personal cloud again following the death of his father in the summer and there would not be a more popular winner than Walters on Sunday. "I’m staying in the present," he said. "Hitting the best shot I can and if I don’t pull it off, there’s not much I can do. If it works then great, if not it’ll be disappointing."
Darren Fichardt - Started 128th - Projected 114th
The five time European Tour winner had a serious mountain to climb with four holes to play on Friday but he birdied the 15th, 17th and last to soar up the leaderboard and provisionally sneak the right side of the line. A Qualifying School graduate in 2005 and 2011, he is not fazed by the prospect of another trip. "As long as I’m playing well, it doesn’t matter what happens this week," he said. "I’ll just go to Tour School and get it there. It’s not my first rodeo, that’s just the way this game is."
Jack Singh Brar - Started 117th - Projected - 108th
The Englishman was the bubble boy coming into the week and could well find himself taking it right to the back nine on Sunday. From Walker Cup player to winner and graduate in his first season as a professional on the Challenge Tour, Singh Brar's golfing career has been plain sailing up to this point but he will need to show his battling qualities when he enters Saturday five off the lead.
Min Woo Lee - Started 110th - Projected 115th
Lee birdied the last to sneak onto the cut-line and that putt could have major implications for not just the Australian but some of those around him. While Lee will be focused entirely on his own game, if he drops out of the top 115 in the Rankings, and Ancer stays outside the top 116, that number becomes the new cut off. If the 21-year-old can produce the form that brought him two top fives early in the season, that will not be an issue.
Niklas Lemke - Started 111th - Projected 116th
Lemke needed a par on the last to stay on the cut-line and you could cut the atmosphere with a knife as the Swede knocked home from seven feet. He is looking to avoid an 11th trip to the Qualifying School after securing a rookie season last autumn at the tenth time of asking.
Hugo Leon - Started 120th - Projected 117th
Back to back 69s have the Chilean at four under and if things were to stay as they are, he would be the man to miss out. A 34-year-old rookie who has played on the PGA Tour, the Web.com Tour, the PGA Tour Latinoamérica, the MacKenzie Tour, the China Tour and the Challenge Tour, a good weekend could see him find a home at last.
And not forgetting.........
Jamie Donaldson, Louis de Jager, Adrien Saddier, Steven Brown, Jake McLeod and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño are all well placed but have work to do if they are to make enough progress to keep their cards.
Clément Sordet and Lee Slattery missed the cut and will face an anxious wait over the weekend, while James Morrison, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Andres Romero and Abraham Ancer will be watching from afar having not been in the field this week.
There will be trips to the Qualifying School for Paul Dunne and Max Schmitt, both of whom missed the cut from just the wrong side of the line.
