HUTCH AND GORDON SHARE DUDDINGSTON HALFWAY LEAD

Banchory's Greig Hutcheon has far more experience than Craig Gordon (Edinburgh Golf Centre) of being in the pole position of a tournament at halfway but the joint leaders in the £9,000 Duddingston 36-hole challenge will each fancy his chance of staying in front over the final 18 holes at the Edinburgh venue.

Certainly Gordon's five-under-par 67 contained enough birdies - six in all - to give him the confidence to hang on in there under pressure. His sub-par figures came at regular intervals until drying up over the last four holes. Gordon birdied the long first, the long fourth, the seventh, ninth, 13th and short 14th with only one bogey to spoil the card, at the fifth.

Hutcheon could not have asked for a better start - an eagle 3 at the par-5 first  and he was four under par standing on the fifth tee, having birdied the third and fourth. But Greig, who will be playing in the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart next week, was stuck in the doldrums in the middle park of his round until his only bogey, at the 11th, snapped him into action again.

He birdied the 12th and 13th but then, like Gordon, could not get another birdie over Duddington's closing holes.

They lead by a shot from Christopher Currie (Caldwell) whose 68 included six birdies and two bogeys.

Joint fourth on 69 at Mark Kerr (Marriott Dalmahoy) and Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle).

FIRST ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 72
67 Craig Gordon (Edinburgh Golf Centre), Greig Hutcheon (Banchory)
68 Christopher Currie (Caldwell).
69 Mark Kerr (Marriott Dalmahoy, Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle)
70 Cameron Marr (Musselburgh), Neil Fenwick (Dunbar), Scott Hendersn (Kings Links), Colin Robinson (Prestonfield), Steven Duncan (Carnoustie GL).
72 Jonathan Lomas (Caprington), Scott Herald (Mearns Castle), GReg McBain (Gamola Golf).
72 Greg Nicolson (Mortonhall), Calum Lawson (Kirkcaldy), Terry Mathieson (Murcar Links), Graham Fox (Clydeway Golf), David Patrick (Kingsfield), Steven Taylor (Bothwell Castle).
73 Gordon Law (Uphall), JonathanPorteous (Craigielaw), Iain Stoddart (Uphall), Ken Hutton (Downfield)
74 Jonathan Cliff (Murrayfield), Keir McNicoll (Gullane), Paul Wardell (Whitekirk), James |McGhee (unatt), Grant Smith (Gleneagles), Andrew Weir (unatt), Jordan Gallagher (Douglas Park), Stephen Gray (Hayston), James Dick (Duddingston), Michael Patterson (Kilmacolm), Ross Munro (Duddingston), Robert King (Carrick on Loch Lomond), Christopher McMaster (Panmure), Paul Affleck (unatt), John Henry (Clydebank and Dist).
OTHER SCORES INCLUDED
75 John Gallagher (Duddingston), Shaun McAllister (Craigielaw), Robert Arnott (Bishopbriggs), Paul Wilson (cawder), Mark King (Kingsfield), Paul O'Hara (Clydeway Golf), Myles Cunningham (Longniddry), Craig Ronald (Carluke), Neil Colquhoun (Merchants of Edinburgh), James McKenna (Irvine).
76 Alan Reid (West Lothian), Graeme Brown (Montrose Links), Patrick Walker (Ballumbie Castle), Julie Otto (Elie SC).