Richard Coughlan yesterday refused to throw in the towel in his ongoing battle to retain his US Tour card. Despite the disappointment of an opening-round 73, and requiring a top-four finish to ensure his playing rights for next season, the 23-year-old Birr player responded admirably to the challenge by shooting a second-round 68 for a midway total of three-under-par 141 in the $2 million Walt Disney Classic in Florida.

Duffy Waldorf led after the first round when he had a near-perfect round with 10 birdies on the way to a nine-under-par 63 to take a three-stroke lead. Waldorf led Tiger Woods, Sweden's Jesper Parnevik and Len Mattiace by three shots.

Coughlan, who went into the tournament in 160th place in the moneylist and needing to break into the top 125 to keep his card, showed his mettle with a fine second round to make the cut. A place in the zone between 126 and 150 after this weekend's tournament would give him a Nike Tour card next season and a ticket into next month's final qualifying school for a full card.