THERE'S NO STOPPING ON-A-ROLL PETER
WHITEFORD ON CHALLENGE TOUR

By MICHAEL GIBBONS
Press Officer, Challenge Tour

Scot Peter Whiteford continued his stunning Challenge Tour form at the penultimate event of the season, the Toscana Open Italian Federation Cup, with an opening score of three under par 68 to lie just two strokes off the lead.
The Kirkcaldy 27 year old has transformed his career with two victories in the last three weeks on the Challenge Tour that have taken him from 60th on the Rankings to 13th, and within touching distance of a place on the 2008 European Tour.
A top five finish at the Arnold Palmer-designed Le Pavoniere Golf and Country Club would be enough to guarantee Whiteford his Tour card.
Other Scots in the field this week who have the chance to join Whiteford on Tour next season are Andrew McArthur, who carded an opening 76, Jamie McLeary (75), George Murray (69) Eric Ramsay (71) and Richie Ramsay (72).
Of those five, McLeary, Murray and Eric Ramsay need to make money in Tuscany this week in order to safeguard their places at next week’s Apulia San Domenico Grand Final, where an elite 45-man field do battle for a prize fund of €250,000 and the 20 available European Tour cards.
FIRST ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 72
66 M Lundberg, R Kakko.
67 P Kaensche, L Bond, R Coles, F Aguilar, T Dier, R De Sousa, T Karjalainen.
68 D Dixon, P Whiteford, M A Carlsson, M Lorenzo-Verga, R Dinwiddie, J Abbate, A Salto, P Larrazabal, G Rojas, J Luiten, P Fowler, S Browne, N Vanhootgem (jt 10th).
Other Scots' scores:
69 G Murray (jt 23rd).
70 S Henderson (jt 35th).
71 E Ramsay (jt 51st).
72 R Ramsay (jt 68th).
73 A Oldcorn (jt 81st).
75 J McLeary (jt 96th).
76 A McArthur (jt 101st).