STYAL’S David Horsey has targeted his third Challenge Tour victory of the season after a flawless round of 65 catapulted him to the top of the leaderboard on day two of the Kazakhstan Open.

The 23-year-old is also bidding to regain his place at the head of the Challenge Tour Rankings after being deposed by Northern Ireland’s Gareth Maybin, the winner of last week’s inaugural Qingdao Golf Open – where Horsey finished runner-up.

With Maybin certain to miss the cut after successive rounds of 75 at Nurtau Golf Club in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Horsey is in pole position to reclaim the No 1 spot – which would gain him entry to the money-spinning HSBC Champions event in November.

With his place on the European Tour already assured Horsey could have been forgiven for slacking off, but the man from Manchester insists he is desperate to win more events before he signs off his first full Challenge Tour season.

Seven birdies for a ten under par aggregate total of 134 considerably enhanced his prospects of adding the Kazakhstan Open title to two he has already collected this season, the Telenet Trophy and the AGF-Allianz EurOpen de Lyon.

Horsey said: “I played really solidly all day – if my putter had been working, I might’ve even shot three or four lower. I three putted the fourth hole and then missed a two foot putt on the sixth, so it was a frustrating start, but I played really well on the back nine. I came into the tournament in decent form with my runner-up finish in China – hopefully I can go one better this week.

“I want to win as many tournaments as I can – that’s why I play the game. I’d love to get the No 1 spot at the end of the season and play in the HSBC Champions.

"It’s a big tournament, and if you play well there you can get your season off to a great start. Even a top 20 finish gets you about €40,000, which puts you on the front foot straight away.

"After that I’d probably play in Hong Kong, then go across to Australia and South Africa. But if I were to win one of them, maybe I’d give myself a month off over Christmas!”

With the afternoon starters yet to complete their rounds, Horsey is three shots clear of his compatriot Chris Gane and Italian Gregory Molteni, who are both on seven under par.

Gane, currently 52nd in the rankings and so in need of an improved performance this week, finished with three straight birdies to match Horsey’s immaculate round of 65.

He said: “I struggled with my game for about 14 holes yesterday and then made a little adjustment, which seemed to do the trick because I felt good and played really well today. It’s great to play well in a big event – I’m obviously well down in the Rankings at the minute, but who knows what the weekend might hold?”

Scotland’s David Drysdale had also threatened to challenge the leaders, only for a bogey-double bogey finish to stall his momentum. Drysdale’s 71 saw him finish on five under par, level with fellow Scot Richie Ramsay, who started his round of 71 with an eagle but suffered a double bogey on his penultimate hole.

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