Golf Digest/ CHALLENGE TOUR: Robert Dinwiddie and Peter Whiteford will go head to head in a battle to become the Challenge Tour's most prolific champion of 2007 in the last match of the third round of the Toscana Open Italian Federation Cup today.
The Englishman and the Scot posted hugely impressive scores of 63 and 64 to vault to the top of the halfway leaderboard on 11 and 10-under-par, with England's Robert Coles and the Swede, Mikael Lundberg sharing third place on nine under with 36 holes to play at Le Pavoniere Golf Club.
Dinwiddie and Whiteford are two of eight double winners on the Challenge Tour this year, and both men are hungry to secure the third victory that would guarantee promotion to The European Tour in fine style.
The pair played together in the third round of the Scottish Challenge presented by Bank of Scotland Corporate when Dinwiddie emerged the winner with a brilliant display of golf.
That gave the Englishman the confidence to win his second title of the season the following week at the Rolex Trophy, two results that have been largely responsible for lifting the 25 year old to his current position of eight on the Challenge Tour Rankings.
Stephen Browne's second round of two under par 69 left him in contention to a complete a dream comeback at the Challenge Tour's penultimate event of the season, the Toscana Open Italian Federation Cup .
The Dubliner, currently 71st on the Rankings, needs a big pay day this weekend in order to secure a spot at the elite 45-man Apulia San Domenico on Italy's south east coast next week
He remains in contention to do just that, with a five under par 1237 halfway total, some six shots behind the leader, England's Robert Dinwiddie.
Gareth Maybin is just a shot behind Browne after a second round 67, but Colm Moriarty and Michael Hoey missed the halfway cut with respective scores of level par and four over.
LET TOUR SCHOOL: French amateur Camille Fallay took a three stroke lead after the second round of the Ladies European Tour's Pre-Qualifying School at Le Fonti Golf Club in Castel San Pietro Terme near Bologna in Italy yesterday.
The 25-year-old from Bussy, east of Paris, moved a step closer to securing her playing rights for the 2008 season.
A total of 25 players and ties will progress to next week's Final Qualifying School, held at the same venue.
Fallay, who opened with a 67, added a six-under-par 66 for an 11-under-par aggregate. A naturally talented sportswoman, Fallay plays off a handicap of +2.5 at Bussy Golf Club in Guermantes. She took up the game only five years ago at the age of 20 and had reduced her handicap from 26 to scratch in just three years.
The Frenchwoman fired off four birdies and an eagle in her second round yesterday. The eagle was achieved when she holed her second shot from 110 metres with a nine-iron at the par-four 16th.
Japan's Yuki Sakurai and France's Caroline Afonso tied for second place on eight-under-par.
Sakurai had a 67 while joint first round leader Afonso had a 70. The Irish pair of Marian Riordan and Heather Nolan have work to do if they are to make the top-25. Riordan added a second round 72 for a two-round total of 147 while Nolan is two shots back after a 75.
