Paddy Gribben and John Kelly headed the Irish charge at the European Tour qualifying school stage two yesterday as both finished two off the pace on the opening day.

Gribben shot a five under par at Pals Golf Club while Kelly was equally impressive at Peralada with a four under par 71 where Gary Murphy opened with a two under par 69.

Damian McGrane will have to work hard after a one over par 74 at Pals while Peter Lawrie and Francis Howley are well off the pace at Peralada after 72 and 76 respectively..

Michele Reale headed the Italian charge as he stormed into the lead at Pals. The 30-year-old, who topped the Challenge Tour rankings in 1997, carded a superb seven-under-par 66 to lead by one shot from Spaniard Jose Manuel Lara, and two from Gribben.

At nearby Emporda - the Italian success story continued as Massimo Florioli and Marcello Santi shared pole position with Germany's Marcel Siem after they carded five-under-par 66s.

At Peralada, English amateur Jon Lupton grabbed a share of the limelight when he moved into a tie for the first-round lead with compatriot Lee Thompson after both players shot six-under-par 65s.

This week's successful golfers - approximately 30 players from each course - will earn a place at the final qualifying school in southern Spain later this month.

Augusta National, which every year stages the US Masters, is donating $350,000 to the Tiger Woods Foundation.

Chairman Hootie Johnson said: "We continue to support those organisations that are equipped to make informed decisions on the use of the donations for the good of the game.

"The Tiger Woods Foundation's mission is to initiate and support community-based programmes that promote health, education and welfare of all of America's children."