BRADENTON – Keith Horne emerged from nowhere to take sole possession of first place on Saturday, April 18, at the 86th Senior PGA Championship being held at The Concession Golf Club.
After a bogey on the first hole, The 54-year-old from South Africa reeled off seven birdies and scored 32 on the back nine for a 6-under round of 66 and stands alone atop the leaderboard at 11-under.
Horne didn’t start playing professionally until he was 25 and spent 22 years playing on the Asian Tour, along with stops on the European Legends Tour and Sunshine Tour. He has never won on the PGA’s senior circuit.
“I was really nervous when I started today, and it didn’t really go away all day,” Horne said. “I managed to keep it together. I hit enough good shots at the right time when I needed them. I’m very pleased with a 66.
“I am a typical journeyman. I’ve played all over the world, and I just keep on going. I think that is the key to being successful out here. I’ve stayed healthy, and I’ve always felt that I have kept improving.”
Stewart Cink, 52, leads a pack four golfers one stroke back at 10-under after a ho-hum round of 2-under 70. He is joined by second-round co-leader Scott Hend of Australia, who shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday, Australian Stephen Allan, who was 4-under in the third round, and Thammanoon Sriroj of Thailand, who fired a 66.
“There was one glaring mistake,” Cink said. “I hit it in the water with a sand wedge and cost myself a shot. That was regrettable.
“I feel like I have some low-hanging fruit to neaten up before tomorrow. Maybe it can be a really special day.”
Ben Crane, a 50-year-old from Portland, Oregon, is alone at 9-under after shooting a 1-under 71 on Saturday.
Second-round, co-leader Brian Gay faltered on Saturday, shooting a 2-over par 74. However, the 50-year-old former Florida Gator remains in the hunt just three shots back in a 4-way tie at 8-under.
Joining Gay at 8-under are Fiji’s Vijay Sing, Greg Owens of England and Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez. Anyone from that group is a threat to make a charge on Sunday.
Jimenez gave fans a thrill on Saturday when he smacked a hole-in-one on the par-3, 183-yard sixth hole en route to a round of 68. It was his 16th ace in tournament competition, including five on the Senior Tour.
“I hit a beautiful 7-iron a little downwind,” Jimenez said. “And I shot it into the hole. It’s a great shot.
“All of them have been very good. All of them have been eagles. All of them were very nice.”
Harrison Frazar, 54, turned in the round of the day before some of the leaders even teed off. The former Texas Longhorn from Dallas racked up a 7-under score of 65 to climb into a 4-way tie at 6-under par.
Frazar, who has made a remarkable 69 of 71 cuts during his time on the senior circuit, started the day at 1-over. He has hauled in more than $2.2 million during his Senior PGA career.
“I got off to a bit of a rocky start,” Frazar said. “I actually had a terrible session on the range. I just decided to focus on the basics. I missed two 4-foot putts, but I hit a few good shots at the right time and made some putts.”
The final round is set to begin on Sunday at 7:30 a.m.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Wait! Who’s that leading the Senior PGA heading into the final round?
Reporting by Jim Brockman, Special to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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