Cameron Clark and Gary Murphy are both through to the weekend at the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship at Trump International Golf Links, Aberdeen where Keith Horne leads by one.
Ballymena-born Clark, playing his first season as a Legends Tour pro, recovered from a patchy start to birdie three of his final five holes and shoot a one-under 71 in the testing conditions. Having opened with a one-over 73, he’s now just six back on level-par and tied for 18th.
Murphy, who made a hole-in-one but had little else to smile about on day one as he struggled to a 77, looked destined for the airport and a flight home when he began bogey-double bogey in round two, but he rebounded to birdie three of the remaining 16 to shoot a one-over 73 that was enough to see him make the cut with a shot to spare.
Paul McGinley improved on his opening round by two but missed the cut by three.
South African Horne, who shared the overnight lead after an opening six-under-par 66, followed it with a level-par 72 on Friday to reach the halfway stage at six-under and claim the outright lead on the New Course.
Horne leads an all-South African top three, with Darren Fichardt and Hennie Otto just one shot back at five-under, while Scottish duo David Drysdale and Greig Hutcheon, Ryder Cup star Jamie Donaldson and recent OFX Irish Legends champion Johan Edfors are firmly in the hunt at four-under.
Horne dropped shots at the first and seventh as strong winds made his opening nine particularly challenging, before responding with birdies at both par fives on the back nine, the 15th and 18th.
“I’m very happy with my position, that’s for sure. Today was tough. The first nine holes were really, really tough out there, straight into the wind,” said Horne, who is looking to claim the Staysure Legends Tour’s flagship tournament for the first time.
“My golf today wasn’t as good as yesterday. I didn’t have many birdie chances – it basically consisted of trying to two-putt from 40 or 60 feet for most of the day and hang in there until I managed to get to the closing downwind holes.”
One of those chances came at the par-five 15th, where Horne produced one of his shots of the day to set up a crucial birdie. “I hit a really good hybrid into the 15th off a downslope to about 20 feet, and I was really chuffed with that shot.”
Looking ahead to the weekend, the 2025 Reignwood Legends Championship winner believes patience will be key.
“It’s such a tough golf course, you really can’t get ahead of yourself. It’s survival out there really, and that will be the key – just stay in the moment and try and hit the golf shots when I need to.”
Horne’s compatriot Fichardt, who shared the overnight lead after an opening 66, also endured a more challenging second round but birdied the 18th to sign for a one-over-par 73 and remain firmly in contention.
The third member of the South African trio, Hennie Otto, produced one of the rounds of the day to join him at five-under. The Staysure Legends Tour rookie began Friday at level par but fired a stunning five-under-par 67, making six birdies to surge up the leaderboard.
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