for the second time if they can hold their lead in the final round at the Mid Ocean Club today.

The pair, who won the tournament two years ago, are two strokes ahead in the both the gross and net divisions.

Vallis and White started the third day of the 72-hole tournament two shots ahead of the field and Vallis was surprised that their round of net 66 had been enough to keep them in the lead.

The former Bermuda amateur champion said: "The conditions were absolutely perfect for golf and I did not think we'd done enough, but some of the other leaders lost ground.

"We made three birdies on the front nine, but gave away three bogeys and we let a few good opportunites go.'' Vallis and White scored 64 and 60 on the first two days and lead the net rankings with a 54-hole total of 190 and top the gross leaderboard with 208.

Local Kirk Kitson, partnered by American Tony Lee are second in the net division on 192 and three shots further back is another Bermuda/US pairing, Blake Marshall and Jeff Eidson.

But defending champions Terrett West, of Bermuda and Canadian Neil Lumsden are not out of it. They lie in equal fourth place, tied with Bermuda's David Ezekiel and American Willis Dobbs, eight shots off the lead.

An American pair, Michael Darling and John Pickett, are putting the pressure on Vallis and White in the gross division, two shots behind the leaders on 210.

Bermuda-based ACE Limited president Brian Duppereault was overwhelmed by playing a round with his boyhood hero Arnold Palmer at the Naples Classic Pro-Am in Florida.

"He was a perfect gentleman and he can still hit the ball really well,'' said Duppereault, after completing his round with the 69-year-old star.

"It was special for me because as a kid growing up, golf to me was Arnold Palmer.'' But Palmer is not so happy and said he planned to cut down on the number of Senior PGA tournaments he is playing.

"I am playing this week and that could be it, probably for a long time,'' he told reporters.

Winning trail: Robert Vallis (above) is hoping to win the Founder's Trophy for the second time in partnership with Jack White.