Richard Coughlan followed up his excellent start on Wednesday with a 69 yesterday to be tied 13th after the second round of the US PGA Tour final qualifying school at La Quinta in California.

The Birr man, who shot an opening round 66, trails the leader Tommy Tollas by seven shots.

Coughlan, though, is perfectly poised, one third of the way through the six-round qualifying tournament, to be among the top 35 and tied that would earn him a card on next season's US Tour.

Coughlan carded three birdies on the outward journey and, despite two bogeys after the turn, managed another two birdies to finish the second round on three under.

First-round leader Todd Barranger, despite being absent from the game for four years after suffering from testicular cancer and not even revealing his illness to friends he had made on tour in 1995, could only manage a disappointing 70 after returning a remarkable, bogey-free, first-round 62, which contained two eagle threes in his final six holes.

"You're fighting for your job so, of course there's pressure to it, but you're not fighting for your life," 31-year-old Barranger said recently.

For Ballybunion's Sean Quinlivan, it has been a disappointing two days as he followed up a two-over-par 74 with a second-round 78 to be rooted at the back of the field.

Quinlivan has struggled right from the start of the first round. He dropped five shots over the first nine holes. His chances of securing a card are fast disappearing despite their being four rounds still to play with no cut.

At the Senior school finals in Orlando, Denis O'Sullivan was up against overwhelming odds after making five bogeys in his first eight holes in Tuesday's first round. A second-round 73 saw the man from Cork miss the halfway cut by nine shots.