It’s not often I start these notes on the Challenge Tour, but this week I have every reason thanks to the success of Dave Horsey in Belgium.

It’s extremely difficult to win at any stage and from any position, but to do it from gun to wire as Dave did to claim the Telenet Trophy was an exceptional performance from somebody with so little experience.

Dave’s a very good, young player in the making and his achievement once again highlights just how useful it is for us to run a Challenge Tour event and consequently earn 30 Challenge Tour event invitations for our up-and-coming players.

It worked so well for Ross McGowan last season when he went on to claim senior service after winning our Oceanico event at Marriott Worsley Park and Dave looks likely to follow suit now that he has all but ensured a graduation to the main tour.

Another name to look out for is Tyrone Ferreira from our South African stable.   He finished in the top 20 in Belgium and is benefitting from Challenge Tour experience.

On the main Tour, Mark Foster kick started his year by finishing tied 3rd in Germany to earn a six-figure cheque.  There is a time in every season when a player can look ahead rather than over his shoulder and Mark has now reached that point.

Charl Schwartzel returned to action in encouraging style with a top 10 placing.  Charl has been a round for so long it’s amazing that he is still only 22, but he is definitely maturing into a world class player.

Finally, let me say how exciting it is these days to be involved with cricket through the players we manage.  The game is changing rapidly and I can see it evolving and becoming similar to golf where players play in different tournaments around the world.  Watch this space for further developments.