All to play for at Frilford Heath

Billy Downing maintained his one-stroke lead at the end of the second round of HotelPlanner.com PGA Europro Tour Qualifying School Final Stage, as 87 golfers made the 36-hole cut.

Final Stage Qualifying is taking place at Frilford Heath Golf Club, where 240 golfers played one round on each the Red and Blue Courses and a cut to the leading 80 players and ties has been made. The 87 golfers whose 36-hole score is four-over-par or better will play the final 18 holes on the Blue Course today.

Players are competing to earn the highest possible category on the 2016 HotelPlanner.com PGA Europro Tour. All those who have progressed to Final Stage have already earned at least a category 14, with golfers making the Final Stage cut earning a minimum category 10 and the top 30 earning category three.

Downing (Truro Golf Club) carded a second-round 71, one-under-par, on the Red Course, birdieing the ninth, his final hole, after a mixed bag of five birdies and two bogeys coming in.

He is trailed in the hunt for first prize by three golfers on four-under-par. Arron Wright and Nick McCarthy (Moortown Golf Club) both played their second round on the Red Course and have made successive 70s. Ben Stow (Rushmore Golf Club) carded the tournament’s best round so far when he made a six-under-par 66 on the Blue Course.

The afternoon’s play suffered a 47-minute disruption as heavy rain and hail left many greens with standing water, but once this cleared play resumed and was completed as scheduled for the day.

A full list of exemption categories can be found at www.europrotour.com/about/categories.