PGA TOUR:Mark Calcavecchia added a second-round 69 to his opening 66 to set the clubhouse target of 135 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, at the TPC Louisiana, in Avondale, yesterday.
Just one birdie on the front nine at the seventh saw Calcavecchia reach the turn in 35 and he added two more at the 13th and 18th in a back nine of 34.
Calcavecchia, on nine-under-par 135, had a one-shot lead over Lucas Glover as the morning starters completed their second rounds.
CHALLENGE TOUR:Michael Hoey continued his assault on the European Challenge Tour's Tessali Metaponto Open di Puglia e Basilicata with a fine second round of five-under-par 67, taking him within one stroke of the lead going into the final 36 holes.
Hoey moved to 10 under for the tournament, just one behind Sweden's Fredrik Widmark. Hoey will be looking to add a second Challenge Tour victory to his golfing CV after winning in Austria in 2005, the year he won his European Tour card through the rankings.
While Hoey will be in contention over the weekend, his compatriots Stephen Browne, Michael McGeady and Damien Mooney will all be heading home after missing the halfway cut.
Of the three players, Browne will be the most disappointed. After carding an opening four-under-par 68 the Dubliner stumbled to a four-over 75.
McGeady and Mooney missed out with respective totals of three and one over par.
EUROPRO TOUR: Mark Staunton was one of nine Irish players to earn EuroPro cards for 2007 after yesterday's final qualifying round at Frilford Heath, Oxfordshire.
Staunton shot a final round of 73 for a 212 total, just three shots behind the winner, Todd Nicholson of New Zealand, who finished with a 72 for an eight-under-par 209.
Brendan McCarroll (Ballyliffin) on 213 and Colm Moriarty from Athlone on 216 also finished in the top 10.
The first of 16 rounds of the season takes place at Wensum Valley in Norfolk, England, and begins on May 1st.
SA TOUR: Margate professional Andrew Curlewis came through a dramatic three-hole play-off to claim his maiden victory at the Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour at Arabella Golf Club near Hermanus.
The 23-year-old, who had to qualify for this tournament, went on to take the lead after two rounds with a hole-in-one in his second round, survived determined charges from the rest of the field on the final day and beating the experienced Alan Michell in a tense play-off for the title.
