Patrick Horgan III believes the “sky is the limit” for promising local amateur Kenny Leseur.

The former PGA Tour player and multiple Bermuda Open and Gosling’s Invitational champion was impressed by the 15-year- old’s solid display competing at this week’s Bermuda Championship local qualifier at Port Royal Golf Course.

Leseur, who attends the International Junior Golf Academy in Florida, achieved his primary objective at the 36-hole event after finishing tied for first with fellow qualifiers Michael Sims and Jarryd Dillas.

“I think it’s good that this young man [Leseur] just qualified,” Horgan III, who now plays on the Champions Tour, formerly known as the Senior PGA Tour, said. “It’s going to make him more prepared to play this event [Bermuda Championship] by going through this qualifier in these conditions and under that pressure he did, which is going to bode well for him.

“I just hope he can relax and enjoy it. There will be a lot of buzz around him, but it’s going to be great for him in his development as a player.

“It doesn’t matter how he does in this event. Just being in the event is going to be an experience that he will cherish and will benefit him in the long run like nothing he has ever done before. It will probably be one of the greatest experiences of his life.”

Leseur shot the lowest score of two-over-par 73 in the second round in blustery conditions, especially on the exposed back nine, that took a heavy toll on the field.

“To be able to shoot this score in these conditions was fantastic,” Horgan III added. “He [Leseur] has a bright future, the sky is the limit.”

As for his overall take on the local qualifier, Horgan III said: “I’ve personally played qualifiers most of my career for Tour events, Champions Tour events and I’ve never seen anything like this.

“I’ve come here for years, but the drama and the thrill of playing this golf course in Tour conditions for these players, I could feel it, and I wasn’t even playing.”

Leseur, fellow amateur Dillas and Sims will join Dwayne Pearman, who was granted a sponsor’s exemption to compete in the island’s first PGA Tour event, at the inaugural Bermuda Championship, also taking place at Port Royal from October 31 to November 3.

The Bermuda Championship is the brainchild of the American Horgan III, who is part of the PGA’s marketing and operational team. The 72-hole event is a new addition to the 2019-20 PGA Tour and will involve 120 professionals who do not qualify for the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China this year. The championship will carry a purse of $3 million and offers 300 FedEx Cup points to the winner.