Sport

Browne starts well in Italy

Stephen Browne opened his late bid to win back his European Tour card through the Challenge Tour rankings in optimistic fashion…

Thu Oct 18 2007 - 01:00

Stephen Browne opened his late bid to win back his European Tour card through the Challenge Tour rankings in optimistic fashion with a three-under-par 68 to lie just two strokes off the first-round lead at the Toscana Open Italian Federation Cup.

Currently 71st on the rankings, Browne needs a big week to break into the top 45 and secure a place at next week's Apulia San Domenico Grand Final, where an elite field do battle for a prize fund of €250,000.

The Dubliner memorably achieved that feat two years ago by winning the Kazakhstan Open, before going on to secure his European Tour card at the Grand Final.

He set up the chance to repeat that feat yesterday.

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Colm Moriarty will certainly feature in the Grand Final. Currently 32nd, the Athlone man carded a one-over 72 at Le Pavoniere Golf and Country Club.

Like Browne, Ireland's Omega Mission Hills World Cup pair of Michael Hoey and Gareth Maybin need a strong finish this week to make the Grand Final. Ranked 52nd and 51st, both did their chances no harm with respective scores of 72 and 71.

EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR- Toscana Open Italian Federation Cup (AT Le Pavoniere Gof and Country Club, Prato) - Leading first round scores: 66 - M Lundberg (Swe); R Kakko (Fin); 67 - R De Sousa (Sui); T Dier (Ger); T Karjalainen (Fin); F Aguilar (Chi); R Coles (Eng); L Bond (Wal); P Kaensche (Nor); 68 - P Whiteford (Sco); G Rojas (Arg); Stephen Browne (Ire); N Vanhootegem (Bel); P Fowler (Aus); MA Carlsson (Swe); J Luiten (Ned); A Salto (Esp); R Dinwiddie (Eng); M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra); J Abbate (Arg); P Larrazabal (Esp); D Dixon (Eng). 69 - D Horsey (Eng), L Richard (Bel), F Delamontagne (Fra), I Van Weerelt (Ned), F Widmark (Swe), S Reale (Ita), F Pasqualucci (Ita), J-A Larsen (Nor), MA Duque (Spa), A Velasco (Spa), B Miarka (Ger), G Murray (Sco) 70 - M Richardson (Eng), S Manley (Wal), B Mason (Eng), S Henderson (Sco), C Gane (Eng), D De Leon (Mex), R Gonzalez (Arg), M Wiegele (Aut), S Davis (Eng), J Wade (Aus), D Kupper (Ger), A Gee (Eng), A Garcia-Heredia (Spa), P Baker (Eng), L Gagli (Ita), Cian Reimbold (Ger). Others: 71 - Gareth Maybin (N Ire). 72 - Michael Hoey (N Ire), Colm Moriarty (Ire).