Barend Botha recorded his third top-10 finish in his last four Korn Ferry Tour starts on Wednesday when he finished fourth in the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at the Abaco Club on Winding Bay.

Botha once again had to fight off the effect of bogeys, as he made three in a row on the front nine and one more on the homeward nine on his way to a one-under-par 71 closing round.

He finished on 10-under-par for the tournament, and was two shots behind the winner, Ian Holt of the United States. Holt needed a birdie on the last to pull off the win, and he duly produced the goods to edge out countryman Alistair Docherty, who closed with a six-under-par 66, and Justin Hastings of the Cayman Islands, who signed off with a three-under 69.

Botha started fast with two birdies on the opening two holes, but his run of three successive birdies from the fourth slowed his progress towards a possible victory. He turned in one-over after a birdie on the eighth. He held things steady until he picked up another shot on the 14th. He bogeyed the 15th and regained that lost shot with a birdie on 16.

His showing saw him climb 16 places on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List to sixth place after the two opening tournaments of the new season.