Felton enters the tournament in top form, having overcome torrential weather and a play-off to win the TPS Sydney in March, following on from a top-10 finish at the Queensland PGA Championship in January.

A Perth native, Felton’s previous success at the course may prove pivotal across the weekend.

“Obviously I have a nice track record around here, I enjoy playing here, it’s a pretty tough track so you’ve just got to stay patient and play within yourself.”

A good start to the year means Felton is within striking distance of the top three in the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit standings, and a DP World Tour card is firmly in his sights.

“Yeah, I mean I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t on my mind, I think obviously the top-10 guys here, it’s all kind of on their minds, but we’ve got a job to do this week and it’s to try and play the best you can,” he said.

RELATED: WA PGA preview

“If that results in a win then we will take it and move forward but yeah, we will just try and jump that Order of Merit as much as we can.”

Felton credits linking up with mental coach Sean Lynch for his turnaround in form, which comes after a two-year period in which he struggled to play consistent golf.

“It’s been a pretty good couple of months for me, I transitioned over to working with Sean Lynch, my new mental coach, so we’ve been working pretty hard on a few select areas and I feel like my game is trending in a nice direction”.

There could be plenty of movement Order of Merit standings this week, with just $37,000 separating Andrew Dodt in third and Jordan Zunic in 10th, while Anthony Quayle (fifth) and Brad Kennedy (eighth) will be absent due to commitments on the Japan Golf Tour, giving the remainder of the top10 an opportunity to make a big move. The first-prize cheque in Kalgoorlie is $36,000.

"I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t on my mind, I think obviously the top-10 guys here, it’s all kind of on their minds, but we’ve got a job to do this week and it’s to try and play the best you can." - Jarryd Felton.

For the first time this season, the top three finishers receive playing cards for next season’s DP World Tour.

Queenslander Jed Morgan is a runaway leader at the top at $188,000 after his win in the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland last December, and it is unlikely that he will be shifted from that spot with only the Nexus Advisernet WA Open and the Northern Territory PGA Championship remaining on the schedule over the next two weeks. Both those events carry $150,000 prize pools giving the chasers a slim chance of making ground.