James, a student at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Florida, vaulted into a three-stroke lead after carding a superb three-under-par 67 in the second round of the Fecchio Cup at Belmont yesterday.

James, mastering the windy conditions, has a two-round score of 143, following up Tuesday's first round score of 76.

First-round leader Jarryd Dillas (15) did not find the conditions to his liking and could only managed a 75 after carding a 71 the previous day, finishing with a two-round score of 146.

Andy Boyce holds a comfortable, four-stroke lead in the 13-14 age group with rounds of 75 and 77.

One player who seems to have his division all sewn up is Andrew Osborne who holds a commanding seven-stroke lead in the 11-12 division after scoring consecutive rounds of 79.

Blair Marshall leads the Under-10 division with two nine hole rounds of 41.

The final round gets under way at Belmont today.

"We don't know where they've gone. But we're afraid something might happen to them.'' -- Cemal Polat, chairman of Turkish side Erzurumspor, talking about players Sohrab Bakhriyarzadeh and Mohammad Momeni, who have not been seen since driving off in a club car earlier this week. It is believed the pair, who hail from Iran, are in dispute over unpaid wages.