Martin, Simms hold off late challenge at Galgorm Castle
At halfway in the Heron Trophy played at Galgorm Castle Golf Club the pairings of David Martin/Graham Simms, George McAuley/David Bamford and Steven Penney/Owen Smith were vying for the lead.
They were one point ahead of Lyle Foster/Stephen Mailey and Sean McErlain/Donal McAteer with Campbell McAnally and JJ McAnally another point behind.
Through 13, after a birdie and three pars the Foster/Mailey partnership joined the front runners Martin and Simms, McAuley and Bamford and Penney and Smith with the father and son McAnally combination handily placed a further point away.
They were followed by McErlain and McAteer another two points down.
Martin and Simms moved into a two point lead with the help of a birdie up the Grove from the Foster/Mailey and McAuley/Bamford partnerships who were another two points ahead of McAnally/McAnally, McErlain/McAteer and Penney/Smith.
Martin and Simms finished bogey, par and just managed to hold off Foster/Mailey (two pars) and G.McAuley/Bamford (two pars) by one point and with a better back nine Foster and Mailey took second place ahead of McAuley and Bamford.
The other three pairings of McAnally/McAnally(two pars), McErlain/McAteer (two pars) and Penney/Smith (par, birdie) finished together another two points behind.
Fourth place went to Campbell and JJ McAnally with a better back nine and the final placing to McErlain/McAteer with a better back nine.
Twos were recorded by: G Simms, G McAuley, D Montgomery, A McNeill, P McBurney, I Rainey, B Cull, D Kilpatrick, B Sims, Rod Lennox, J Taylor, J Rainey, I Stewart, W Glover, K McCavera, D Henry and D McClelland.