Welsh champion Tara Davies (Holyhead) is three shots off the pace in Portugal (image by Cal Carson Agency, click on to enlarge).

Tara Davies leads British & Irish challenge in Portugal

Welsh champion Tara Davies (Holyhead) leads the British & Irish challenge into the weekend's final 36 holes of the 80th Portuguese women's open amateur championship at Amendoeira Golf Resort on the Algarve.
Tara has shot 71 and 73 for level par 144 and is joint third, three shots behind the leader, Germany's Lara Katzy (71-70), who had an eagle 3 at the par-5 11th, and one behind second-placed Spaniard, Noemi Jimenez Martin (no relation to European Tour player Miguel Angel Jimenez) (73-70).
Sharing third place with the Welsh player is another Spanish competitor, Anna Arrese (72-72).
Davies was drifting out of the picture after an outward half of 40, which included a double bogey 7 at the long fifth, but she came storming back into the fray with an inward half of 33, studded with birdies at the long 11th, the 15th, the short 17th and the 18th. Only one shot dropped on that inward charge, a bogey at the 12th.
Curtis Cup team contender Pamela Pretswell from Scotland is sharing fifth place on 145 after rounds of 71 and 74.
The Bothwell Castle player and Glasgow University student has something in common with Katzy who is a member of the Berlin-Wannsee club. They have both won the Swiss women's open amateur title, Pretswell in 2008 and Katzy last year.
The German has been very steady with rounds of 71 and 70 over the par-72 Oceanico O'Connor jun course for a three-under-par tally of 141.
But for a potentially depressing start today of a bogey at the second and double bogey 5 at the short third, Pretswell could have been breathing down Katzy's neck.
She covered her last 15 holes in two-under-par figures, with birdies at the long fifth and long 11th and just one more bogey, at the ninth, in halves of 39 and 35.
Danielle McVeigh, the tall Royal Co Down player who won the British stroke-play at Royal Aberdeen last summer, is in seventh place with scores of 75 and 73. She reeled off 10 straight pars before moving two under on the day with birdies at the long 11th and short 13th. A shot dropped at the short 17th saw her home in 35th for a one-under-par 71.
Gillian O'Leary, the winner of the Portuguese title in 2004, is tied for 13th place on 149 with a 76 and a 73. She did well to recover from bogeys at the first, second, third and fifth, birdieing the short sixth, ninth and long 16th. Gillian had a double boghey 7 at the 16th in her first-round 76.
Laura Murray (Alford), the only other Scot in the field, had her double bogey at the opposite end of her round.
Needing to par the last two holes for a repeat of her opening 74, which would have put her in joint 11th place, Murray squandered five shots at the short 17th and probably did well to par the last for 39 home and a share of 17th position with 11 other players.
The leading 40 players and ties after Saturday's third round will qualify for Sunday's final round. After 36 holes, the leading 43 players are on 153 or better.
Leading second-round totals
Par 144 (2x72)
Figures in brackets are nine-hole tallies (par 36-36) for selected players
141 Lara Katzy (Ger) 71 70 (34-36).
143 Noemi Jimenez Martin (Spa) 73 70.
144 Tara Davies (Wal) 71 73 (40-33), Anna Arrese (Spa) 72 72
145 Pamela Pretswell (Sco) 71 74 (39-35), Caroline Karsten (Net) 74 71.
146 Danielle McVeigh (Ire) 75 71 (36-35).
147 Manon Gidali (Fra) 74 73, Marieke Nivard (Net) 75 72, Nina Holleder (Ger) 73 74.
148 Mireia Prat (Spa) 72 76, Holly Clyburn (Eng) 70 78.
149 Julie Yang (SKo) 71 78, Luna Sobron Gaimes (Spa) 78 71, Gillian O'Leary (Ire) 76 73 (38-35), Merie Kasperek (Ger) 76 73.
150 Laura Murray (Sco) 74 76 (37-39), Manon Molle (Fra) 76 74, Ha Rang Lee (Spa) 75 75, Karolin Lampert (Ger) 73 77, Margot Ivanoff (Fra) 72 78, Ainhoa Olarra Mujika (Spa) 75 75, Ines Lescudier (Fra) 75 75, Perrine Petit (Fra) 74 76, Marion Ricordeau (Fra) 72 78, Kiara Spilkova (Cze) 76 74, Stephanie Kirchmayr (Ger) 75 75.
151 Elizabeth Haycock (Eng) 74 77 (38-39), Laura-Alexandra Stempfle (Ger) 76 75, Laure Castelain (Fra) 79 72, Adriana Zwanck (Spa) 74 77, Ariane Provot (Fra) 72 79, Teresa Hermani (Spa) 73 78, Mathile Cassaignau (Fra) 76 75.
152 Natalia Escurioia Martinez (Spa) 76 76, Audrey Riquelle (Fra) 75 77, Chloe Leurquim (Bel) 78 74, Quirine Louise Eijkenboom (Ger) 72 80.
153 Samantha Birks (Wal) 78 75 (37-38), Amy Boulden (Wal) 75 78 (38-40), Jess Wilcox (Eng) 75 78 (38-40), Camilla Hedberg (Spa) 76 77, Chrisje De Vries (Net) 76 77 (jt 39th).
Selected scores:
156 Victoria Bradshaw (Ire) 74 82 (40-42) (jt 51st).
157 Maria Dunne (Ire) 76 81 (40-41), Katherine O'Connor (Wal) 75 82 (38-44) (jt 57th).
161 Aedin Murphy (Ire) 79 82 (42-40) (jt 67th)
162 Gemma Bradbury (Wal) 81 81 (42-39), Ciara Butler (Ire) 85 77 (39-38) (jt 72nd).
167 Louise Mernagh (Ire) 84 83 (41-42) (jt 83rd)
168 Sarah Cunningham (Ire) 87 81 (40-41) (jt 87th).