Bermuda professional golfer Michael Sims took another step towards realising his dream of a place on the PGA Tour yesterday when he fired a superb four-under par 68 in the third round of the first tournament of Tour Qualifying School.

With the final round of the event at the Cypresswood Country Club, outside Houston, Texas, taking place today, Sims lies in a tie for fifth place - aware that the top 20 and ties will advance to the second stage of Q School.

His 68 yesterday marked his best round of the week, having started with scores of 73 and 69, and left him with a total of 210 after 54 holes - six shots behind leader Kevin Moncrieff (204), but more importantly four strokes ahead of the 20th placed player.

Should Sims remain in the top 20 after today's final round he'll go through to the second stage tournament to be played at a course still to be determined in about four weeks' time.

That will be followed by the final stage, a gruelling seven-round tournament which decides which players will be eligible for the PGA and Buy.com Tours next year.

In the meantime, 23-year-old Sims is also going to try his luck in a qualifying event for the South American tour which takes place in Florida next week.