# Darren Fichardt

Darren Clive Fichardt (born 13 May 1975) is a South African professional golfer who plays on both the European Tour and the Sunshine Tour.

## Early life

Fichardt was born in Pretoria and grew up in Centurion, Gauteng. He attended Sutherland High School from 1988 to 1993, where his talent for golf was nurtured.

## Professional career

Fichardt turned professional in 1994 and he won the Southern Africa Tour (now the Sunshine Tour) Order of Merit in 1999/2000 and 2003/04. He partnered Retief Goosen in South Africa's WGC-World Cup team in 2000.
Fichardt has played on the European Tour since 2001 and has won five European Tour events. His best year-end ranking on the Order of Merit is 39th achieved in 2003.
In 2012, Fichardt ended a nine-year title drought on the European Tour when he won the Saint-Omer Open by three strokes from Gary Lockerbie. This victory earned him his third European Tour title.
Fichardt followed this up in the 2013 season, when he won the Africa Open in his native South Africa in February. He claimed his fourth European Tour title by two strokes over Grégory Bourdy and Jaco van Zyl.
In February 2017, Fichardt won the weather-shortened Joburg Open for his fifth victory on the European Tour and seventeenth victory on the Sunshine Tour.
On 21 August 2020, Fichardt won the Betway Championship. This was the first event in return on the Sunshine Tour after the COVID-19 hiatus. He shot a final round 64 to beat Ulrich van den Berg by one shot.

## Amateur wins

* 1992 Northern Transvaal Junior Championship (South Africa)
* 1993 Northern Transvaal Stroke Play Championship (South Africa)

## Professional wins (24)
### European Tour wins (5)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 25 Mar 2001 | São Paulo Brazil Open | −18 (67-61-67=195)* | 5 strokes | José Cóceres, Richard S. Johnson, Brett Rumford |
| 2 | 16 Mar 2003 | Qatar Masters | −13 (71-69-66-69=275) | Playoff | James Kingston |
| 3 | 17 Jun 2012 | Saint-Omer Open$^1$ | −5 (68-69-69-73=279) | 3 strokes | Gary Lockerbie |
| 4 | 17 Feb 2013 | Africa Open$^2$ | −16 (69-67-65-71=272) | 2 strokes | Grégory Bourdy, Jaco van Zyl |
| 5 | 26 Feb 2017 | Joburg Open$^2$ | −15 (66-66-68=200)* | 1 stroke | Stuart Manley, Paul Waring |
*Note: Tournament shortened to 54 holes due to weather. $^1$Dual-ranking event with the Challenge Tour $^2$Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour
European Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 2002 | Murphy's Irish Open | Richard Bland, Niclas Fasth, Søren Hansen | Hansen won with birdie on fourth extra hole Bland eliminated by birdie on second hole |
| 2 | 2003 | Qatar Masters | James Kingston | Won with birdie on first extra hole |

### Sunshine Tour wins (18)

* Legend
* Tour Championships (2)
* Other Sunshine Tour (16)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 21 Sep 1997 | Bearing Man Highveld Classic | −16 (65-66-69=200) | 1 stroke | Sean Pappas |
| 2 | 25 Feb 2001 | The Tour Championship | −14 (66-69-67-68=270) | 4 strokes | Hennie Otto |
| 3 | 25 Nov 2001 | CABS/Old Mutual Zimbabwe Open | −13 (68-69-69-69=275) | 3 strokes | Mark Murless, Bradford Vaughan |
| 4 | 1 Feb 2004 | Dimension Data Pro-Am | −10 (72-69-69-68=278) | 2 strokes | Nick Price, Ulrich van den Berg |
| 5 | 6 Oct 2006 | Vodacom Origins of Golf Final | −4 (71-69-72=212) | 1 stroke | Alex Haindl |
| 6 | 15 Oct 2006 | Bearing Man Highveld Classic (2) | −12 (66-67-71=204) | Playoff | Alex Haindl |
| 7 | 1 Feb 2009 | Nashua Masters | −17 (66-67-65-65=263) | 1 stroke | Marc Cayeux |
| 8 | 18 Sep 2009 | Vodacom Origins of Golf (2) at Selborne | −18 (65-66-67=198) | 7 strokes | Keenan Davidse, Jbe' Kruger |
| 9 | 31 Oct 2009 | Platinum Classic | −15 (70-65-66=201) | 1 stroke | Titch Moore |
| 10 | 14 Feb 2010 | Dimension Data Pro-Am (2) | −16 (66-68-71-68=273) | 1 stroke | Louis Oosthuizen |
| 11 | 12 Aug 2011 | Vodacom Origins of Golf (3) at Wild Coast Sun | −6 (73-67-64=204) | 1 stroke | David Hewan |
| 12 | 22 Oct 2011 | Suncoast Classic | −13 (70-65-68=204) | 6 strokes | Ulrich van den Berg |
| 13 | 17 Feb 2013 | Africa Open$^1$ | −16 (69-67-65-71=272) | 2 strokes | Grégory Bourdy, Jaco van Zyl |
| 14 | 13 Nov 2015 | Vodacom Origins of Golf Final (4) | −14 (61-71-70=202) | 1 stroke | Tyrone Mordt, Callum Mowat, Jake Redman |
| 15 | 26 Feb 2017 | Joburg Open$^1$ | −15 (66-66-68=200)* | 1 stroke | Stuart Manley, Paul Waring |
| 16 | 18 Mar 2018 | The Tour Championship (2) | −17 (68-66-68-69=271) | 1 stroke | Oliver Bekker |
| 17 | 19 Jan 2020 | Eye of Africa PGA Championship | −20 (65-70-65-68=268) | Playoff | Matías Calderón |
| 18 | 21 Aug 2020 | Betway Championship | −3 (73-70-64=207) | 1 stroke | Ulrich van den Berg |
*Note: The 2017 Joburg Open was shortened to 54 holes due to bad weather. $^1$Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
Sunshine Tour playoff record (2–3)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 1999 | Bearing Man Highveld Classic | Bobby Lincoln, Lyall McNeill | Lincoln won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 2006 | Bearing Man Highveld Classic | Alex Haindl | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 3 | 2008 | Mount Edgecombe Trophy | Mark Murless | Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 4 | 2018 | Sun Wild Coast Sun Challenge | Adilson da Silva, Hennie du Plessis, Vaughn Groenewald | Groenewald won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 5 | 2020 | Eye of Africa PGA Championship | Matías Calderón | Won with birdie on third extra hole |

### Challenge Tour wins (2)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
| 1 | 17 Jun 2012 | Saint-Omer Open$^1$ | −5 (68-69-69-73=279) | 3 strokes | Gary Lockerbie |
| 2 | 2 Jul 2023 | Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge | −15 (68-68-70-67=273) | 2 strokes | Oliver Farr |
$^1$Dual-ranking event with the European Tour

### Other wins (2)

* 1999 Sun City Pro-Am, PGA's Cup (both unofficial money on the Southern Africa Tour)

## Results in major championships

| Tournament | 2000 | 2002 | 2004 | 2007 | 2008 | 2010 | 2017 |
| Masters Tournament | | | | | | | |
| U.S. Open | | | | CUT | | | |
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | CUT | | CUT | CUT | CUT |
| PGA Championship | | | | | | | |
| Tournament | 2024 |
| Masters Tournament | |
| PGA Championship | |
| U.S. Open | |
| The Open Championship | 80 |
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

## Results in World Golf Championships

| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2004 | 2010 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Match Play | | | | | | |
| Championship | T40 | NT$^1$ | T59 | | | |
| Invitational | | | | | | |
| Champions | | | | T34 | T61 | 62 |
$^1$Cancelled due to 9/11
"T" = Tied NT = No tournament Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

## Team appearances

* World Cup (representing South Africa): 2000