Bermuda Open champion Michael Sims moved a step closer to his dream of joining the sport?s elite when he fired a blistering six-under-par round of 66 at the Cypresswood Golf Club in Spring, Texas, yesterday to advance to the second stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School.

Lying in a tie for 26th overnight after three rounds of the 72-hole first stage tournament and aware that only the top 20 plus ties would qualify, the 26-year-old Bermudian saved his best for last.

Following rounds of 72, 71 and 70, he catapulted up the leaderboard to finish in a tie for 11th overall.

Sims now faces a second qualifying tournament either between November 9 and 12 or November 16 and 19 at a venue still to be announced and if he can get through that event he will join the final five-round qualifying final where players from all around the world will be aiming to secure playing cards on the lucrative US PGA Tour or the second tier Nationwide Tour.

Showing no effects from the troublesome back that has hindered his tournament play this year, Sims went round the tough Cypresswood lay-out yesterday to card what proved to be the third lowest score recorded this week, two others in the 71-player field having carded 65s during earlier rounds and another shooting a superb 64 yesterday.

Earlier this month Sims won the Open with a record 12-under par total at Port Royal after opening with a course record 64 and finishing with a 65.

The Belmont Hills touring pro has previously reached the second stage of PGA Tour School but not the final tournament and he?ll be anxious to retain his October form when that event, over 72 holes, is played next month.

Yesterday saw first stage tournaments conclude at seven courses around the USA with the top 20 in each joining those who qualified in seven other tournaments held last week and the week before.

Played in three stages at the end of each season, the gruelling Qualifying Tournament eventually determines the 30 players (and ties) who will receive their PGA Tour cards for the following year. Anyone else who advances to the final stage receives some kind of status on the Nationwide Tour.

The final stage, however, is regarded as one of the toughest tests in all of golf. Played over 108 holes, according to the PGA Tour website ?it?s a pressure-packed, mind-draining, gut-check of a week that determines your job for the following year.?

The competition heats up in the second stage where the first-stage qualifiers are joined by a host of exempt players, which could include those already on this year?s Tour and players who made the cut in the Masters, US Open, British Open or PGA Championship.