South Africa’s Keith Horne secured his maiden Legends Tour title in stunning style with an exemplary front-running performance at Bonanza Golf Club, near Lusaka.
The nine-time Sunshine Tour champion started the day with a three-shot lead and stormed out the blocks with three birdies in the first four holes. Eventual runner-up Adilson da Silva stayed on his tail as he made it to the turn in five-under-par for the day, but he never got closer than within two shots of the leader.
Horne retained control of the tournament with birdies at the 8th, 12th, 13th and 15th to give himself a four-stroke cushion going up the last hole. Da Silva only had one birdie on the back nine, before he holed his eagle putt from the edge of the green to give the local fans something to cheer and close out his own bogey-free 64.
That left the stage clear for Horne to tap in for his 8th birdie of the day – following 11 red numbers in a Saturday 63 – to claim the Zambia Golf Legends Championship title in emphatic fashion.
“It feels fantastic,” said the winner. “I’m really chuffed. I came with the mission to see if I could win this week. It was the reason I pushed it into my schedule after being in America – just hoping that being back on your home turf would do it for me. I’m really happy to do it.
“Winning really is so hard. It doesn’t matter how easy it looks. I was really pleased to get off to a good start, but I turned in four-under-par and I lost a shot to Adilson. There were a lot of birdies out there, and I just tried to go as low as I could the whole time. I didn’t know what Adilson was going to do on the back nine. He could have got another five, so I just tried to keep making birdies.
“It would have to be the best-ever Sunday for me. I played really solid today. I never opened the door, not even slightly – and there were a few chances we could have gone a little bit awry. I was really chuffed with the way I played, and the way I handled myself.”
That win lifts Horne to 9th on the MCB Road to Mauritius, while Da Silva’s runner-up finish retains his spot in 4th, but moves him closer to the top three.
Dismas Indiza Anyonyi enjoyed a fantastic week as he finished 3rd on his Legends Tour debut. The Kenyan signed for a 66 – his best round of the week – that included two bogeys and eight birdies, including finishing with three on the bounce to reach -13.
Euan McIntosh bounced back from an opening round of 74 with a 65 and a 67 over the weekend to finish alone in 4th, and former US Open champion Michael Campbell had a 70 to end the week in 5th.
Robert Coles continued his good form after winning the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship hosted by Colin Montgomerie two weeks ago by finishing in a tie for 6th, alongside Simon Griffiths. Doug McGuigan, Van Phillips, Chris Gane and Andrew McLardy completed the top-10 in a tie for 8th at -7.
The top three of the MCB Road to Mauritius remains unchanged with Richard Green on top, followed by Scott Hend and Peter Baker.
