Nicholson Closes In On Tour Spot - 01/05/2007

NEW ZEALANDER Todd Nicholson remains on course to claim a place on the 2007 PGA EuroPro Tour.

Nicholson leads the table after Day Two of the Final Round of Qualifying School, which is being held at Frilford Heath, Oxfordshire. All competitors play a round on the club's blue and red courses before the top 120 plus ties play a final round on the red course.

Nicholson hit a 70 on the opening day but bettered that as four birdies and an eagle saw him register a six under par 67 on the second day. Only a disastrous final round would stop him taking part in this year's tour, which is regarded as the leading golf developmental tour in Europe.

He is two shots clear of the chasing pack - Ireland's Mark O'Sullivan and Mark Staunton, Scotland's Christopher Campbell and day one leader Colin Roope of Surrey.

The first hole-in-one of the campaign came on the Blue Course as Clevedon's Daniel Perrett hit a perfect shot with a 6-iron on the 165-yard par-three 13th. This proved crucial as this helped Perrett scrape into the top 120 by a narrow margin with the cut falling at +6.

Jeremy Martin of Buckinghamshire suffered a poor second day as a score of +6 saw him tumble down the leaderboard from joint second to joint 38th.

The final day will prove crucial and competition will be fierce as only the top 70 of the remaining competitors will guarantee a tour spot, while the rest will be relying on other players withdrawing to get their places.