ALAN DUNBAR stepped up his challenge for the Brabazon Trophy at Burnham and Berrow on the Somerset coast yesterday with a stunning three-under-par 68 in his second round.

IRELAND lost their Amateur Home International title at Hillside on the Lancashire coast yesterday when they lost 9½-5½ to England.

IRELAND attempt to make history this week by winning, for the first time, a third consecutive Ladies Home International Golf Championship.

CLAIRE COUGHLAN, runner-up in the British Ladies Open matchplay championship at Littlestone in Kent in June, bids to go one better in the strokeplay event which gets underway at Nairn today in the north of Scotland.