ST ANDREWS (Scotland) – South Africa’s Darren Fichardt impressed some of the biggest names in world golf as he opened with an 11-under-par 61 to lead Thursday’s first round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Fichardt finished the day with a one-shot lead over Australian Cameron John following a round at Kingsbarns that was one shot off the course record held by fellow South African Branden Grace. In the 2012 edition of this DP World Tour event, Grace opened with a 60 at Kingsbarns and went on to win the tournament.
“Let’s hope we can carry that South African flag high and continue what Branden did,” said Fichardt, who leads one of the strongest fields assembled for this tournament.
Jon Rahm started his tournament with a 65 at Carnoustie, while Tommy Fleetwood signed for a 68 on the same course. Carnoustie was also where Rory McIlroy opened with a 69, Billy Horschel shot a 70, and Brooks Koepka signed for a 71. Patrick Reed posted a 70 on the Old Course.
“It was crazy,” Fichardt said of his round. “If I was on the green it was either going in or just missing. My putter was obviously really hot today, and my driver was exceptional. I was never really in trouble. I didn’t try and attack today. I didn’t take on any flags. I played to the open sides, and I was just making those putts. I’ve shot rounds in the low 60s before, but there’s nothing like shooting 61 in the Dunhill Links.”
Fichardt said he felt like his game was heading in the right direction coming into this tournament.
“I’ve come off a really frustrating year and been working really hard. The last couple of weeks I could feel certain things were clicking, but you never quite know. Then today, the weather was amazing at the start and I think we were second out. I had a good warm-up, but you can never get too excited. On my first hole I made a long putt for birdie and thought, ‘Ok, here we go’. Then I three-putted the next hole and thought, ‘Oh jeez’. But then I made a good putt for eagle on the 12th hole – my third – and I just kept it going from there. I started making a few putts, feeling the flow, and before I knew it I was 11 under.”
He remained at 11 under with two holes to play, including the par-five ninth as his finishing hole, and looked well on track to match the course record.
“I felt good, and then I just read the wind wrong on my second last hole and three-putted there. I thought I could make eagle on the last and I hit a great second shot but it just caught the bank and came back. But I was happy with birdie.”
Robin Williams and Yurav Premlall are the next best South Africans in the field following their rounds of six-under 66 at Kingsbarns. Branden Grace opened with a 67 on the Old Course, while Rupert Kaminski, Thriston Lawrence, Olive Bekker, MJ Daffue, and Kyle Barker all started their tournaments with rounds of four under par. – Michael Vlismas
