European Seniors Tour Qualifying School

STEVE MARTIN HALFWAY THERE
IN PURSUIT OF OVER-50s' CARD

If Steve Martin had hold his current joint seventh place over the last two rounds of the Final Qualifying School in Portugal, the Dundee man will be rewarded with one of the 14 players' cards for next season's European Seniors Tour.
Steve has been very steady so far with a pair of 70s over the 6,555yd Pinta course (par-71) at the Pestana Resort on the Algarve. He is four shots behind the joint leaders, Luis Gallardo (Spain) and David Merriman (Australia) at the halfway stage.
Gallardo has shot 70 and 66, Merriman a 69 and a 67.
Only Martin of the four Scots still playing - Aberdonian David Chillas, pictured right, withdrew from the tournament after one round - has a realistic chance of earning a key to the door of the over-50s club.
Bill McColl did step up his form considerably with a second-round 69 but, having started with a 77, he is back in joint 34th place on 146.
Russell Weir also shaved five shots off his opening score but he is on 149 with a 77 and 72.
Amateur Brian Smith is on the 157 mark after a 77 and 80.
Steven Franklin, the European Seniors Tour Press Officer, writes:
In seniors golf it is conventional wisdom that you start at your best and then go downhill as the years pass. But Terry Dill, who at the age of 67 is well placed to win his first card to the European Seniors Tour, is anything but conventional.
The towering Texan has impressed spectators with his powerful play during the first two rounds.
Rounds of 69 and 71 have left him tied seventh in a field of 75. In spite of his ageing limbs, Dill still averages 290 yards off the tee and his length is such that he has rarely needed to use his driver.
It's all a far cry from last year when Dill quit golf to follow his political dreams.The former US PGA Tour player ran for a seat in the Texas State House of Representatives, raising 70 per cent of his political money from his fellow senior tour professionals, but lost in the primary.
"My father and my grandfather were both politicians so I tried to run, but I just wasn't Conservative enough," explained Dill, who as well as harbouring political ambitions is also a trained tax lawyer.
"For eight months I didn't play any golf. The players really supported me but in my district the anti-abortion people are very strong and the people who don't want to pay any more taxes are very strong, while I think I am more of a reasonable person.
"Strangely, though, the experience seemed to really benefit my golf. I had played really hard for 15 years so it was nice to have some time off and I kept fit by walking the neighbourhoods canvassing. I am in good shape for my age."

HOW THEY STAND AT HALFWAY
Par 142 (2 x 71)
136 Luis Gallardo (Spa) 70 66, David Merriman (Aus) 69 67.
139 John Benda (US) 73 66, Philippe Dugeny (Fra) 71 68, John Mashego (SAf) 70 69, Emilio Rodriguez (Spa) 67 72.
140 Terry Dill (US) 69 71, Tim Rastall (Eng) 70 70, Rigoberto Velasquez (Col) 71 69, Steve Martin (Sco) 70 70.
141 Mark Fernando (am) (US) 70 71, Jim Lapsley (am) (NZ) 67 74.
142 Donald Stirling (Aut) 69 73, Neville Clarke (SAf) 70 72, John Curtis (Ire) 71 71.
143 Martin Morbey (Eng) 75 68, Jean Pierre Sallat (Fra) 71 72, Stewart Graham (Eng) 69 74, Bill Malley (US) 69 74, Mariano Aparicio (Spa) 74 69.
144 Ivan Renjifo (Col) 74 70, Malcolm Edmunds (Wal) 70 74, Jim Carson (US) 73 71, Torsten Giedeon (Ger) 73 71, Mitch Thomas (US) 72 72, Alan Mew (Tri) 73 71.
145 Tim Huyton (Eng) 70 75, Gavin Slabbert (SAf) 74 71, Harry Ferguson (Can) 75 70, Francisco Abreu (Spa) 74 71, Bill Hardwick (Can) 71 74, Martin Foster (Eng) 72 73, Kent Nilsson (Swe) 70 75.
146 Chuck Milne (US) 75 71, Mike Ferguson (Aus) 75 71, Bill McColl (Sco) 77 69, Alex Romanoff (US) 72 74, Rick Uhlir (US) 71 75, Armando Saavedra (Arg) 76 70, Keith Robson (Eng) 76 70, Mike Williams (Zim) 75 71, Michael G Wolseley (NI) 75 71, Tyrone Carter (am) (Eng) 75 71.
147 Anders Johnsson (Swe) 73 74, Gordon Townhill (Eng) 78 69, Mike Inglis (Eng) 74 73.
148 Butch Butler (US) 78 70, Danny Garcia (Mex) 76 72, Billy Todd (NI) 76 72, Tony Price (Wal) 73 75, TR Jones (US) 74 74, David Lavallee (Can) 75 73.
149 Jan Dorrestein (Net) 72 77, Terry Hanson (Wal) 74 75, Adriano Mori (Ita) 76 73, Russell Weir (Sco) 77 72.
50 Nigel Willett (Eng) 77 73, Peter Barber (Eng) 74 76.
151 Norman Bennett (Eng) 77 74, Mike Gallagher (Eng) 75 76, Dermot W Morris (am) (Ire) 74 77.153 Sigurour Hafsteinsson (Ice) 80 73, Jimmy Montecinos (US) 76 77.
154 Kalle Drotz (Swe) 77 77, Ricardo Ronderos (Col) 76 78, Miguel Angel Arcuci (Arg) 77 77.
155 Robin Mann (Eng) 75 80, George Green (US) 80 75, Tomas Persson (Swe) 78 77, Tony Feminis (US) 76 79, Neil Wall (Aus) 81 74.
157 Victor Garcia (Spa) 80 77, Brian Smith (am) (Sco) 77 80.
159 Willie Hickson (US) 78 81.
Withdrew: David Chillas (Sco)