DARREN FICHARDT WINS AFRICA OPEN BY TWO SHOTS
NEWS RELEASE FROM EUROPEAN TOUR
By PAUL SYMES
Darren Fichardt survived a late wobble to secure his fourth European Tour title by two shots after closing with a round of 71 on the final day of the Africa Open.
Fichardt, whose previous victories came in France last year, Qatar in 2003 and Brazil in 2001, sealed his first Tour title on home soil after finishing on 16 under par at East London Golf Club.
With most of his rivals struggling to cope with the stiff breeze at South Africa's Eastern Cape, Fichardt looked to be cruising to victory, having established a comfortable lead courtesy of his fourth birdie of the day at the 13th hole.
But after dropped shots at the 14th, 16th and 17th holes the gap to his nearest challenger Jaco Van Zyl had been reduced to just one stroke and, when his drive on the final hole found the rough on the right of the fairway, Fichardt’s title charge appeared to be unravelling.
But he produced a superb approach to the heart of the green and, when Van Zyl was unable to get up and down from the side of the green, Fichardt was left with three putts for the title.
He duly rolled his first putt to two feet and tapped in for par to earn the €176,242 winner’s cheque and climb to 13th place in The Race to Dubai.
Fichardt said: “I started losing focus after my birdie putt on the 13th. I was four shots clear at that point and I probably took the win for granted, but you can’t afford to do that. I missed a short one on the 14th and then made two more bogeys, and all of a sudden I was struggling a little bit. The last few holes here are really tough, especially in the conditions, so I was just pleased to get the job done in the end.
“I always seem to play well in the wind, and I just love playing this course. You don’t play too many courses like this overseas, where there are lots of options and you really have to think about what shot you’re going to play. So I always enjoy coming here, and obviously winning the tournament makes the week especially enjoyable.”
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
By PAUL SYMES
Darren Fichardt survived a late wobble to secure his fourth European Tour title by two shots after closing with a round of 71 on the final day of the Africa Open.
Fichardt, whose previous victories came in France last year, Qatar in 2003 and Brazil in 2001, sealed his first Tour title on home soil after finishing on 16 under par at East London Golf Club.
With most of his rivals struggling to cope with the stiff breeze at South Africa's Eastern Cape, Fichardt looked to be cruising to victory, having established a comfortable lead courtesy of his fourth birdie of the day at the 13th hole.
But after dropped shots at the 14th, 16th and 17th holes the gap to his nearest challenger Jaco Van Zyl had been reduced to just one stroke and, when his drive on the final hole found the rough on the right of the fairway, Fichardt’s title charge appeared to be unravelling.
But he produced a superb approach to the heart of the green and, when Van Zyl was unable to get up and down from the side of the green, Fichardt was left with three putts for the title.
He duly rolled his first putt to two feet and tapped in for par to earn the €176,242 winner’s cheque and climb to 13th place in The Race to Dubai.
Fichardt said: “I started losing focus after my birdie putt on the 13th. I was four shots clear at that point and I probably took the win for granted, but you can’t afford to do that. I missed a short one on the 14th and then made two more bogeys, and all of a sudden I was struggling a little bit. The last few holes here are really tough, especially in the conditions, so I was just pleased to get the job done in the end.
“I always seem to play well in the wind, and I just love playing this course. You don’t play too many courses like this overseas, where there are lots of options and you really have to think about what shot you’re going to play. So I always enjoy coming here, and obviously winning the tournament makes the week especially enjoyable.”
Van Zyl’s closing round of 73 saw the South African fall back into a tie
for second place on 14 under par alongside Frenchman Grégory Bourdy,
who signed off with a round of 70 for a 14 under par aggregate total.
Van Zyl’s compatriot Garth Mulroy took fourth place on 13 under par.
The two Scots who made the halfway cut, David Drysdale and Chris Doak, never threatened to get in a challenge position.
Drysdale finished joint 27th on 284 after a closing rounds of 71 and 72.
Doak had a nightmare final round of 79 for 291.
The two Scots who made the halfway cut, David Drysdale and Chris Doak, never threatened to get in a challenge position.
Drysdale finished joint 27th on 284 after a closing rounds of 71 and 72.
Doak had a nightmare final round of 79 for 291.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
272 D Fichardt (RSA) 69 67 65 71
274 J Van Zyl (RSA) 66 67 68 73, G Bourdy (Fra) 70 67 67 70
275 G Mulroy (RSA) 72 67 69 67
277 M Tullo (Chi) 69 69 68 71, T Van Der Walt (RSA) 70 68 68 71, D Botes (RSA) 74 67 66 70, A Sullivan (Eng) 70 70 69 68
278 R Santos (Por) 71 66 70 71, E Grillo (Arg) 70 71 64 73, A Curlewis (RSA) 69 73 69 67
279 T Aiken (RSA) 74 70 66 69, A Da Silva (Bra) 62 68 73 76, B Rumford (Aus) 71 70 68 70
280 J Kingston (RSA) 69 71 69 71, S Benson (Eng) 71 71 68 70
281 D Higgins (Irl) 70 68 69 74, J Parry (Eng) 68 66 73 74, L Gagli (Ita) 73 69 66 73
282 M Madsen (Den) 71 69 67 75, J Campillo (Esp) 73 70 63 76,
283 B Åkesson (Swe) 70 70 71 72, E
Pepperell (Eng) 77 67 67 72, L Rowe (RSA) 74 67 71 71, C Paisley (Eng)
73 70 69 71, O Bekker (RSA) 69 67 72 75
284 D Drysdale (Sco) 74 67 71 72, T
Fisher Jnr (RSA) 72 69 69 74, M Kieffer (Ger) 71 72 67 74, M Nixon (Eng)
77 67 67 73, L Slattery (Eng) 74 68 68 74
285 D Van Tonder (RSA) 73 71 68 73, J
Roos (RSA) 72 72 72 69, W Coetsee (RSA) 69 73 75 68, K Horne (RSA) 76
68 66 75, N Fasth (Swe) 72 71 67 75, P Price (Wal) 69 74 66 76, J
Morrison (Eng) 72 72 69 72, J Moore (USA) 76 67 68 74
286 M Bremner (RSA) 72 71 70 73, V Groenewald (RSA) 71 73 71 71
287 D McGuigan (RSA) 78 66 69 74, M
Carlsson (Swe) 73 70 74 70, D Ferreira (RSA) 69 70 74 74, B Pieters
(RSA) 76 68 70 73, C Coetzee (RSA) 73 70 67 77, A Kaleka (Fra) 72 67
73 75, M Korhonen (Fin) 70 73 66 78
288 A Hartø (Den) 72 72 71 73, T
Fleetwood (Eng) 69 72 69 78, L De Jager (RSA) 72 71 70 75, U Van Den
Berg (RSA) 71 68 72 77, S Wakefield (Eng) 70 73 69 76, C Basson (RSA)
72 68 75 73, I Garrido (Esp) 69 72 70 77, R Derksen (Ned) 72
72 68 76, M Jonzon (Swe) 69 74 73 72, J Luiten (Ned) 74 67 73 74
289 L Jensen (Den) 72 69 72 76, J
Kruger (RSA) 73 71 71 74, A Marshall (Eng) 75 66 73 75, A Snobeck (Fra)
72 71 73 73, R McGowan (Eng) 73 69 71 76, W Abery (RSA) 73 71 69 76, P
Erofejeff (Fin) 73 68 73 75, T Mordt (RSA) 71 69 71 78
290 D Greene (RSA) 70 74 71 75, M Baldwin (Eng) 74 70 68 78, C Cévaër (Fra) 74 70 76 70, A Tadini (Ita) 71 73 72 74
291 C Doak (Sco) 74 67 71 79, A Levy (Fra) 73 66 72 80, M Delpodio (Ita) 72 68 74 77
292 J Walters (RSA) 72 71 69 80
293 T Moore (RSA) 74 70 69 80, R Strauss (RSA) 71 71 73 78
294 J Ahlers (RSA) 71 73 75 75
298 M Williams (RSA) 73 71 81 73
Labels: PRO GOLF
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Sunday, February 17, 2013
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