A timely eagle on the back nine enabled overnight senior boys leader Alex Osborne to maintain a two-shot lead over Cornell Bean Jr heading into tomorrow’s final round of the AON Fecchio Cup at Port Royal.

Osborne, last year’s junior boys Fecchio Cup winner, eagled the par five 17th to regain the lead after nearest rival Cornell Bean Jr threatened to run away with proceedings.

Like the rest of the field, Osborne also struggled to cope in trying conditions and eventually had to settle for a hard- earned eight over 79 to take his two-day total to 153 with 18 holes left to play.

And he is shadowed by Bean (155) who also carded a 79 today to remain in contention with the 54 hole event still wide open heading into tomorrow’s final round.

Angus Lang (167) currently sits in third but is far off the pace having ballooned to an 18 over 89 that virtually put paid to all hopes of lifting the title.

“Through blistering rain and wind all day the boys braved the weather without a peep of complaint. Anybody would’ve been proud to see these youngsters trudging through icy wind and unstoppable rain and coming in with smiles on their faces,”commented tournament organizer Cindy Hardart.

Meanwhile, Ryan Roberts (158) stretched his lead to ten shots in the boys 13 to 15 age group after firing an eight over 79.

Ryan Benevides (168) lost ground after carding an 18 over 89 but was still able to hold onto second spot followed by Tyler Balcombe (170) in third who posted a 14 over 85 .

Yana Ballantyne (184), the only woman in the field, is further back in fourth.

The 2007 AON Fecchio Cup concludes Sunday at Port Royal.