An opening 65 sees him one clear of compatriot James Kingston who carded a solid 66, and two ahead of a strong contingent of players at five-under that includes 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie, last month’s Barbados Legends winner Scott Hend and Frenchman Jean-Francois Remesy.
“That was very enjoyable – I’d give it an eight out of 10,” said Horne, who has enjoyed a strong start to his 2025 Legends Tour campaign with top-10 finishes in both Marbella and Barbados, backing up his superb 2024 season that included a win in Zambia. “I had a little bit of a wobble in the middle of the round but otherwise I hit the ball really well today. It’s a really tough course with the greens being hard, but today I drove the ball well so had a lot of wedges and took advantage of the par fives.”
That was something of an understatement given his eagle threes on the 5th and the 17th, with a 4-iron to tap-in distance on the former being the obvious highlight. “I hit two perfect golf shots,” said Horne who revealed he had faced the exact same shot twice already earlier in the week. “I hit it in the bunker both times, so I learned my lesson – I changed my line and got it up there just left of the hole.”
And with the unseasonably warm weather drying out the lush Mount Juliet layout, Horne is anticipating the conditions becoming more of a challenge in the coming days. “The fairways are hard to hit because they’re not that wide and they’ve got a little bit harder. The ball is running a long way so to hold them is tough. And the greens are also getting quite firm out there as well – if you’re out of position it’s hard to keep them on the greens.
“I’ve been working really hard on my golf swing. Everything clicked today but it wasn’t a 100% day, so I’ll just try and concentrate on the stuff I’ve been working on, try and get a little bit more grooved and see what happens tomorrow.”
Until Horne’s late eagle, it looked as though another South African – James Kingston – would be holding the overnight lead after a birdie at the last gave him a six-under round. “A 66 comes as a little bit of a surprise,” said Kingston. “I got off the plane and I was sick as a dog, so maybe there’s the old adage of ‘beware the injured golfer’. I hadn’t played the course before this week, but my warm-up was really good and my putting was on today. I kept the ball in play all day, hit some good iron shots and made a few putts. I wasn’t feeling on top of my game, but I just needed to put the ball in play and give myself chances.
“I had really good chances on the par-fives but didn’t take any of them, which was disappointing, but I managed to birdie 18 which was a bonus. I remember working with Pete Cowen years ago, and he always talked about not going out to try and win, but trying to get in position to have a chance on the final day. The more you put yourself in those positions, the more times the door might open.”
Just a shot back of Kingston is Frenchman Jean-Francois Remesy – a two-time winner of the Open de France on the DP World Tour – who racked up four back-nine birdies to reach five-under.
He is joined there by the 1999 Champion Golfer of the Year, Paul Lawrie, who carded one of just three bogey-free rounds in his first Legends Tour appearance of the season. Lawrie clearly has an affinity for golf in Ireland after finishing third in last year’s OFX Irish Open at Seapoint, and his round today included birdies at all four par-fives. Australian Scott Hend completes the trio at five-under, having recovered from a bogey at the first to also shoot 67.
Mikael Lundberg, Peter Baker and local favourite Gary Murphy sit one back on four-under. The Kilkenny native eagled the eighth and added birdies on the 10th, 15th and 18th for a 68.
One of a number of players at three-under – including defending champion Adilson da Silva – is PGA Professional Matt Cort, who earned his playing credentials at Q-School and has enjoyed a good start to life on the Legends Tour. “I finished fourth in Marbella, then I was a bit disappointed with Barbados where I played better than I scored and finished 29th, but I’m feeling good. I’ve been waiting for this for a while and getting my card at Q school was obviously massive. The standard is very good at the top, you can’t just play average and expect to get in the top 10, you’ve got to play well. The facilities we go to are great. You practise off nice turf with brand new balls. It’s not always been the case for me, usually I’m warming up in a net before a Pro- Am, so it’s a bit different, but it’s where I want to be.”
