Darren Fichardt may be on the cusp of a move into seniors golf but he is counting on his experience being to his benefit as he bids for a rare DP World Tour double at the Joburg Open.
The South African veteran, who is in the midst of his 31st year in the paid ranks, won the last of his five titles on the DP World Tour at this event in 2017, when it was held at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC.
Victory this week would see him become just the third player to win the Joburg Open more than once, emulating countrymen Charl Schwartzel and Richard Sterne, and win on golf’s global tour across a third different decade.
Buoyed by a top five finish at the weather-affected Investec South African Open Championship, he arrives at Houghton Golf Club optimistic about his chances of mounting another title challenge.
Last season, he finished runner-up as he brought the momentum from securing his card through Qualifying School into his 28th campaign on the DP World Tour.
“Obviously, fantastic memories,” he said. “I just came off tour school in Europe, so I was just so relieved I got through that and when I came here, I was just happy to be home and obviously carried my form from Europe into here.
“The golf course obviously suits my game a lot. You don't have to overpower it with length or anything, so it's more positional play.
“You get rewarded for straight shots, good iron shots and obviously putting - all the things I quite enjoy. So yeah, feeling good obviously coming off a good performance last week.”
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After losing his DP World Tour card at the end of the 2022 season, Fichardt intended to close out his final few years in his 40s on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa but that changed when he won on the HotelPlanner Tour at the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge in France in July 2023.
“When I just missed out on my card that year, I was actually going just stay in South Africa for the two years leading up to seniors," he said.
"Then I got a call that I was into the BMW International Open in Germany so I thought let me play that and then I had a week off and then played in Denmark on the DP World Tour.
“So, I thought, well, I've got a week off so let’s go and play on what was then the Challenge Tour. I went and played, and I won the tournament, so I just decided to play there for the rest of the season.
“It was hard. On that tour the guys are really young, so it felt like I was playing junior golf again.”
However, junior golf is firmly set to be a thing of the past with a new chapter in his career fast approaching on the Legends Tour.
“My 50th birthday is May 13, which is the Tuesday of the Irish Open seniors (OFX Irish Legends).
“So that's going to be my first event, the Irish Open seniors. So, then I'll play that and then next week I've got the US senior PGA. So yeah, jumping straight into it. Very excited.”
