Our man at the course, Matt Cooper, with his daily diary from this week's Challenge Tour Grand Final in Italy.
Matt Cooper reports from this week's Challenge Tour Grand Final
Click
here for a review of round one
Thursday: round two
The first hole
The nerves of Grand Final at San Domenico are not helped by the brutal nature of the first hole.
A 499-yard par-four, the difficulty is ratcheted up by being played into the prevailing wind. It is statistically the toughest hole on the course year in, year out and anecdotally the toughest on Tour too.
Two years ago, on one particularly windy day, not one of the 45 players even made the green in regulation - it was that tough.
Even throughout the first two rounds this year, played in benign conditions, it has been a driver and a three-wood for almost everyone, with most missing the green.
Last year there were just five birdies, 65 bogeys and eight double-bogeys or worse and things didn't change during the first round when, despite little wind, there were no birdies.
Finally, in round two, the birdies came. All two of them. Well played Nicholas Meitinger of Germany and France's Julien Guerrier.
But with the wind predicted to pick up in the final two rounds the nasty start will be resumed in the morning. As one player grimaced leaving the green on Wednesday morning, "Nice start."
The tension
There are plenty of nerves but also some humour at the Grand Final.
The first tee and fourth green are very close together and yesterday one player on the first tee turned to another and made a joke, the two then burst out laughing and in the process disturbed a player putting on the fourth green.
"Hey, come on," he half-joked, half-growled, "it's not like it's not an important week is it?"
The two offenders raised hands in apology and watched the player prepare to putt. Just as he did so a spectator's phone went off. Cue the player moving to the side of the green and aiming an angry kick at the turf.
But later when he walked past the first tee to the fifth tee, the original offender released the tension by catching his eye and offering a jokey punch.
Going low
It was not a day to shoot a neat one-under-par 70. Simon Thornton did that and dropped from a tie for fifth to a tie for 23rd.
Instead it was a day to go hunting birdies and most of the field collected plenty of them.
There were 65s from Chris Doak, Florian Praegant, Chris Lloyd, Chris Gane and Andrea Pavan. But Pelle Edberg and Tyrone Ferreira were even better, both shooting 63.
For the Swede Edberg it vaulted him up to a tie for third as he seeks the big finish that will earn him a tour card.
Ferreira was starting from further down the field but his card was the most remarkable. On the back nine he didn't register one par, but did make seven birdies, one eagle and a bogey in shooting an eight-under-par 29.
Young guns going for it
The majority of the players, caddies, family, media and staff are staying at the Borgo Egnazia hotel this week, over the road from the course. It is an astonishing place that vaguely resembles the set of a western. If that western is Young Guns, the two leads might be England's Tommy Fleetwood (20) and Italy's Andrea Pavan (22) who go into the weekend at the top of the leaderboard.
This time last year I asked the Challenge Tour staff which player had impressed them most. "Tommy Fleetwood," was a common answer and this year I've asked the same question. He
