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Peter O'Keefe shot a 68 on Thursday to surge into second place behind runaway leader Mark Staunton in the first stage of the European Tour qualifying school in Scotland.
The duo now look certain to progress to the next stage, with Ballinasloe's Staunton having maintained his six-shot advantage over the field going into today's final round.
He recorded a two-under-par 70 at Roxburghe Hotel, while Muskerry-based O'Keefe collected half-a-dozen birdies to move to five-under - three clear of England's George Thacker in third place.
The top nine plus ties at the end of today will advance and there's a possibility two more Irishmen, Damian Mooney and Mark Murphy, could go through as well.
Both began yesterday in a tie for 11th place but Kerry-born Murphy, who is based in New Orleans, couldn't make any headway up the leaderboard with a one-over-par 73 while Mooney's second successive 74, which started with a pair of double-bogeys and included an eagle, saw him drop two places to 13th.
A host of Irish players are involved in first-stage qualifying events across Europe during September and October, with the second stage and final qualifying taking place in Spain in November and a clutch of coveted Tour cards up for grabs.
Amateur champion Alan Dunbar and former Walker Cup star Paul Cutler will enter the fray next week.
