Higgins and in-form Hoey head Irish entry

WATERVILLE'S David Higgins will join his fellow Irishmen Michael Hoey, Colm Moriarty and Tim Rice in Panama this week as the European Challenge Tour continues its tour of Latin America at the Panama Masters.

Higgins, who has three career victories on the Challenge Tour, missed out on last week's Costa Rica Open, where Hoey produced another fine display to finish in fifth place, which moved the Belfast man to second place on the rankings.

Hoey will be looking to continue his sparkling Latin American form of last weekend, adding to his outstanding showings at the Panasonic Panama Open (where he finished third) and the TIM Peru Open (where he took second place) before Christmas.

Those fine performances have earned Hoey €29,080 for the season so far, and left him in an excellent position to secure his European Tour Card as one of the top 15 Challenge Tour players at the end of the season.