Gavin Dear and Keir McNicoll miss the cut

Paul O'Hara

leads by two

strokes in

St Andrews

Links Trophy

Paul O'Hara does not, as yet, have a golfing CV to match that of Gavin Dear and Keir McNicoll ... but he's working on it. While Dear, Scotland's highest world-ranked player, and title-holder Keir McNicoll will be on the sidelines on Sunday, O'Hara will be leading the St Andrews Links Trophy's star-studded field into the final 36 holes. He matched the par of 72 for the Old Course today in what represented a fine effort indeed on a day when the wind inflated almost all the scores on the second day of the St Andrews Links Trophy.
The Colville Park player thus followed in the footsteps of his Motherwell clubmate Ross Kellett as the overnight leader.
O'Hara's heads the halfway qualifiers by two strokes at three-under-par 140 total. Paul had a three-under 68 over the New Course on Friday.
O'Hara, pictured above at the 18th green today by courtesy of John Stewart, St Andrews Links Trust, "made" his round with an eagle 3 at the fifth to reach the turn in two-under-par 34. He dropped shots at the 12th and 13th but came out of the wobble with a birdie 4 at the long 14th and had only one more bogey on his card, at the treacherous Road Hole par-4 17th.
O'Hara has already won the Edward Trophy - reduced to three rounds because of the weather - at Glasgow Gailes in April. He said then that his target was to get through the European Tour School qualifying stages in the second half of the season.

To finance the bid, Paul has been caddieing at Glasgow Gailes and other links popular with American and other overseas visitors.

Rhys Enoch (Truro and East Tennessee State University), whose brother Ben was tragically killed in an accident on his way to play in the Lytham Trophy last month, is O'Hara's nearest challenger at the start of the third and final day after a pair of 71s for 142.
Sharing third place on 143 are Kent's Matt Haines (Rochester& Cobham Park) and Lancashire's Matthew Nixon (Ashton under Lyme), winner of the British boys' title at Royal Aberdeen in 2006. Haines, winner of the Lytham Trophy last year and a live contender for a place in the GB&I Walker Cup team for the September match at Merion, has scored 71 and 72. He set the clubhouse target of 143 several hours before Enoch and then O'Hara beat it. Nixon has scored 73 and 70.
Ross Kellett sagged from 67 over the New to 77 over the Old but don't be too hard on him. It was tough today. The Motherwell youngster is sharing fifth place on 144 with Alan Dunbar from the Rathmore club at Portrush in Northern Ireland. Dunbar has scored 71 and 73.
At one stage, when the projected cut was as low as 146, it seemed that Tommy Fleetwood, Gavin Dear and James Byrne, first, second and joint fourth in last weekend's Bidwells Scottish open amateur stroke-play championship at Murcar Links, would not survive the halfway cut this evening.
But in the testing conditions, the computer soon revised its estimate to 148 or 149. In the event all players with two-round totals of 149 qualified for Sunday action.
Fleetwood, 18 years old from Formby Hall, Lancashire, had a five-over-par 77 over the Old Course today for a 148 36-hole tally. Tommy started with a double bogey 6 in halves of 40 and 37. On the same score, sharing 22nd place, with rounds of 72 and 76 is Wallace Booth (Comrie), who lost his Scottish stroke-play title last Sunday and is still searching for that "one good round" that will ignite his bid for a Walker Cup team place.
Murrayshall's Gavin Dear, winner of the Irish stroke-play and runner-up in the "Scottish," was one of the big name "casualties." He had a 78 for 150, just one shot too many. His halves of 38 and 40 included a double bogey 6 at the 12th and not many birdies.
Defending champion Keir McNicoll (Carnoustie) missed the cut - for the second weekend in a row - by two with rounds of 71 and 80 for 151. But young Michael Stewart, the former Scottish boys' match-play champion from Troon Welbeck, did very well to survive right on the limit mark of 149 with scores of 73 and 76.
Having just completed his freshman year at East Tennessee State University, Michael only flew back to Scotland within the past week so he did well to acclimatise himself again to his native "summer" weather so quickly.
Another former Scottish boys' match-play champion, Stirling University student James White (Lundin) also made it through to the Sunday action with not a shot to spare. James, who lost to Paul O'Hara in the play-off for the Edward Trophy, has had rounds of 74 and 75.
England's Dale Whitnell (Five Lakes), winner of the Portuguese open amateur title earlier in the year, also missed out on 154 (75-79).
Banchory's James Byrne was never going to beat the cut with a total of 159.