Keith Horne was a little grumpy after three-putting the 18th on Friday, but he was happy with his first-round six-under-par 66 at the Legend Course at Constance Belle Mare Plage in Mauritius in the Legends Tour’s season-ending MCB Tour Championship.
“It could have been better,” said Horne of his missed birdie opportunity on the par-five after he got up in two and pushed his first putt nearly eight feet past the hole. “The one thing I didn’t want to do was leave it short, and I obviously gave it too much.
“At least I didn’t make any other three-putts. In fact, I putted pretty well, and my driving was solid. It’s a good start, and I’m in the kind of position I want to be in in the tournament.”
In the end, his bogey-free round gave him third place on his own after Greg Owen of England and Greig Hutcheon of Scotland opened with a pair of seven-under 65s. It was a low-scoring opening day as 19 players broke 70, with Owen and Hutcheon on top of the pile.
Owen was the first man into the clubhouse, with eight birdies and a single dropped shot. The DP World Tour winner picked up shots on four of the last five holes to come home in 31 as he searches for a maiden Legends Tour title at the final event of the 2024 season.
The Englishman has best finishes this season of tied-third at the Costa Navarino Legends Tour Trophy and OFX Irish Legends, and solo third in the most recent event at the WCM Mexico Senior Open. It’s the continuation of a good run of form that’s seen him finish T8-T11-7-3 in his last four starts.
Hutcheon made his breakthrough this year with victory at the Legends Open de France in early September, and he sits eighth on the MCB Road to Mauritius coming into the final week of the season.
He was hot out the blocks with birdies at the first, second and fourth. His only blemish came at the ninth, but he regained his momentum quickly with red numbers at 10 and 12 and a brilliant eagle at the 13th. He birdied the par-5 18th to get alongside Owen at the summit.
Horne, the Zambia Golf Legends Championship winner went bogey-free with three birdies on each side of the course. There was a four-way tie for fourth on five-under, including Ryder Cup legend and eight-time DP World Tour number one Colin Montgomerie, two other first-time winners this year in Robert Coles and Van Phillips, and Scotland’s Gary Orr.
Scott Hend is number two on the MCB Road to Mauritius and he knows he must win and hope that number one Adilson da Silva finishes outside the top 7 to overtake the Brazilian and claim the Order of Merit crown. He’s made a good start with a 68 positioning him alongside Jeev Milkha Singh, Stephen Dodd and Carl Suneson in tied-eighth – just three shots off the lead.
Da Silva is tied-20th on two-under, as is Peter Baker. The defending champion this week and reigning MCB Road to Mauritius number one is the only other player who could surpass the Brazilian, but he needs to win and for Da Silva to finish 36th or worse.
Da Silva endured a frustrating day. “I just couldn’t seem to focus on the round,” he said. “I found myself thinking about outcomes, instead of controlling the things I can do. But I’m not out of it, and there are enough low scores out there to show me what I can still do.”
James Kingston was on three-under-par 69 in a share of 12th, and Doug McGuigan opened with a level-par 72 for a share of 34th.
