A one-under par 71 ensured Michael Sims made his third cut out of 13 tournaments on the Nationwide Tour yesterday — with the 28-year-old currently sitting pretty at the Knoxville Open in a tie for 14th on five-under par for the tournament.

Following a fantastic, bogey-free 68 on Thursday to leave him tied for fourth overnight, Sims knew going into day two that a score of even-par or better would pretty much assure him of making it through to the weekend at the 7,110-yard Fox Den Country Club course in Tennessee.

And while the consistency of day one deserted him — with the Bermuda number one producing a topsy-turvy performance over 18 holes which included an eagle on the par-five first, followed by five bogeys and four birdies — he did more than enough to keep himself in contention

However, he will know that he will probably have to shoot two more sub-par rounds on a forgiving, low-scoring course if he is to remain within the top 15 players.

A good finish in Knoxville this week would certainly be appreciated by Sims’ bank account: he’s made less than $3,000 in prize money so far in his rookie year on the Nationwide.