Major champion Cameron Smith is back in his home country and gracing more than just Australia's two biggest golf tournaments.

Smith, who won the Open Championship in 2022, is the headline act at Nudgee Golf Club in northern Brisbane during this week's Queensland PGA Championship.

While he will draw most of the viewing public's attention, this week's field is packed with plenty of talented golfers who are trying to break through.

Looking deeper than the US PGA and the European tours, professional golf is vast, with hundreds of quality players battling on the greens each week hoping to secure a victory that can propel them to the next level.

Aaron Wilkin's win at the Queensland PGA Championship in 2022 opened the door to him plying his trade overseas.

Week after week, Wilkin, dozens of his fellow Australians and hundreds of other golfers around the world, are battling on the greens from Australia to England and everywhere in between.

Wilkin, 31, has spent this year playing golf around the world, trying to secure a tour card in the future.

It is a tough slog for such golfers who have to cover their own expenses as they try to earn spots in tournaments around the globe.

But it is a sacrifice they must make at this level of professional golf.

"With golf, you have to earn your right to play on a tour every year," Wilkin told ABC Sport.

"That sort of comes down to prize money and points, depending on the tiering of the tournaments."

This year, Wilkin has been playing in some tournaments on the Asian Tour after earning a partial tour card based on where he finished in the developmental series last year.

But a partial card meant Wilkin did not have complete clarity over his year.

"I can plan to a certain degree where I will be, but there are two-three re-ranks a year, and if you're not playing OK your re-rank will drop, so that might affect what events you get into in the back end of the year.

"It's not until you keep your card or have a winner's category that you can map out your whole year.

"That's sort of been my whole career really. I sort of just played where I could get onto."

This year Wilkin has played tournaments in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Oman, China, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Morocco, England, Indonesia and Taiwan.

It is an expensive exercise when sponsorships are hard to come by.

While the prize money can be tens of thousands of US dollars, a golfer needs to perform consistently to ensure they have the cash to carry on to the next event.

"I've been on the golf course and in the background knowing that I've got no money to get to the next place unless I play well," Wilkin said.

"But when you're out there, you just concentrate on the golf.

"Even some weeks where you make $10,000, it's just like a normal wage in the end.

"It's not until you move up the leaderboard and start making the bigger money that you relieve a bit of pressure."

But for all golfers at any level, winning is the cure of all problems and its opens opportunities.

For Wilkin, victory in the 2022 Queensland PGA Championship earned him a tour card exemption in Australia for two years.

Knowing his spot was safe at home for a little while, Wilkin set his sights on Asia in an effort to broaden his career opportunities.

It has been a small luxury for the Queenslander, with guaranteed spots on the Australian tour hard to come by.

"I gave myself a free year [in 2023] to try and better myself overseas," he said.

"I never had that freedom, five or six years out on the Australia tour.

"If you don't play well in the Australian Open, Australian PGA, New Zealand Open, you don't really keep your card unless you win one of those smaller events.

"Having that freedom definitely gave me the opportunity to go somewhere else.

"There's a lot of good golfers in Australia that are stuck, and until you get that kind of freedom where you can go overseas [it can be difficult]."

But overseas tournaments mean plenty of expenses — paying for everything from flights and accommodation to caddies and yardage books.

It adds to the pressure on all golfers as there is no guarantee of prize money each week — but it is all part of being a professional golfer.

"Missing a cut just comes with it," he said.

"With my kind of game, I kind of know I'm always going to have a week here or there that I'm just not there, and some courses don't suit you.

"It's never ideal to go away and come back with nothing in the pocket. But I think I've conditioned myself to move on pretty quickly and just reset."

Wilkin is not expecting to play in Australia this summer as he continues his quest to secure a tour card in Asia next year.

The Australian is currently on course but needs to continue producing good results to maintain his spot in the top 60 of the Asian Tour rankings.