Keith Horne was one of two South Africans who advanced to the next stage of the PGA Tour Champions Qualifying School on Friday as he closed his First Stage campaign at Buckhorn Springs in Florida with a one-over-par 73.
That put him in a share of 14th place at four-under for the 72 holes, 13 shots behind the medallist David Branshaw of the United States. Branshaw had a two-stroke margin over runner-up and countryman Ron Labritz.
Horne turned 50 in June, and has won nine times on the Sunshine Tour. His last victory came in August 2017 in the Vodacom Origins of Golf event at Arabella, and his biggest win came in 2012 in the Telkom PGA Championship at Country Club Johannesburg.
The other South African to go through was Ryan Dreyer, the current South Africa Mid-Amateur champion. He carded a closing one-under-par 70 at Primm Valley in California, to finish at eight-under for the tournament in a share of seventh. Medallist there was Mark Walker of the United States.
Dreyer played on the Sunshine Tour from April 1996 to May 2006. He took back amateur status in 2008 and won the SA Amateur Championship in 2009. He has been a dominant force on the mid-amateur circuit in the last six years – with 13 Provincial wins and 11 runner-up finishes – and has either held the number one spot or finished the season in the top three. He is currently second on the 2021 rankings.
Alan McLean, representing Canada, was another player with South African roots who made it through. He carded a closing level-par 72 at Buckhorn Springs to finish at five-under for the week in a share of 11th.
