Joburg Open: Darren Fichardt lands 54-hole tournament

Round Three final scores (selected)

-15  Darren Fichardt (SA)

-14  Paul Waring (Eng), Stuart Manley (Wal)

-13 Jacques Kruyswijk (SA), Brandon Stone (SA), James Morrison (Eng)

Day four report

South Africa's Darren Fichardt held his nerve to win a fifth European Tour title and continue home dominance of the Joburg Open, which had been reduced to 54 holes due to bad weather.

Fichardt carded a closing 68 at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club to finish 15 under par, a shot ahead of England's Paul Waring and Welshman Stuart Manley.

Manley had birdied the final two holes to complete a third consecutive 67 and set a clubhouse target which looked like setting up a play-off after Fichardt dropped his first shot of the day on the 17th.

However, the 41-year-old from Pretoria then produced a superb pitch from just short of the 18th green to set up a certain birdie and when Waring's birdie attempt agonisingly lipped out, Fichardt tapped in to become the eighth home winner in 11 editions of the event.

"Geez man, it's good to win again," said Fichardt, whose last European Tour title came in the Africa Open in 2013. "I've been boasting about my putting in interviews and today it just let me down. I couldn't make a putt but I was glad to see the ball was pretty close on the last.

"The form I have been having the last couple of months has been horrendous but I decided at the beginning of the year that I was going to play as many tournaments as I can and just get my game right and it worked out.

"I've got a new swing thought that I use on my chipping, and it certainly came in useful today. I was surprisingly calm over the one on 18, especially after that bogey on 17, but it certainly proved to me again that the short game and putting is where you score."

The top three had the added bonus of sealing a place in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale via the Open Qualifying Series, with James Morrison, Brandon Stone and Jacques Kruyswijk finishing in a tie for fourth.

"I've been struggling to get into that tournament the last couple of years, but that's awesome," added Fichardt, whose last Open appearance came in 2010. 

Waring, who lives on the Wirral and finished 19th the last time the Open was staged at Birkdale in 2008, said: "I'm gutted that putt on the last lipped out, but I've got to take the positives out of the week.

"It's a second-place finish, lost by one (shot). There's not too much there that needs to improve. I feel I can win with my current golf game, I just need to get myself over the line now.

"I'm absolutely made up to be going back to Royal Birkdale. I've got some great memories from there, I played on the Sunday with (Phil) Mickelson last time so I am more than happy to be going back there."

Manley, who will make his major championship debut in the Open, added: "I'm very pleased.

"I played great all day really, got a bit unlucky on 11. I ripped a drive which just ran through the fairway and made a bit of a mess of it to make double bogey. I had a lot of chances on the back nine and didn't quite convert but 67 in the last round is pretty pleasing."

Day three report

England's Paul Waring holds a share of the lead going into the final round of the Joburg Open after continued poor weather in South Africa saw the tournament reduced to 54 holes.

Delays had already left the event behind schedule, and although the second round was completed on Saturday, thunderstorms and heavy rain flooded the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington course before anybody could complete their third round, with the top 15 on the leaderboard all still to tee off.

That forced officials to reduce the event to 54 holes, with tournament director David Williams telling the European Tour website: "The course is now completely waterlogged. We're going to restart round three - which will also now be the final round - at 07.00 tomorrow morning.

"The forecast for tomorrow is pretty good. I think we'll just have to wait and see how much damage is done today because at the moment it's coming down very hard and obviously it's coming down onto an already saturated course so we'll just keep our fingers crossed that we have a reasonably good evening, that we can restart tomorrow and get finished over three rounds."

Waring held a one-shot lead overnight but played the closing holes of his second round in one over par after a bogey on the 18th.

The 32-year-old, who is looking for his first European Tour victory after several years ravaged by injury, sits on 11 under par alongside South Africa's Darren Fichardt, who did not hit a shot on Saturday having completed his second round on Friday.

South African pair Dean Burmester and Jacques Kruyswijk are tied for third on 10 under.

Day two report

Paul Waring held a one-shot lead when fading light stopped play on the second day of the Joburg Open.

The Englishman had sunk five birdie putts in 12 holes to move to 12 under par when play was suspended, leaving him a shot ahead of Darren Fichardt and Dean Burmester with a third chasing South African Jacques Kruyswijk a shot further back.

Overnight leader Paul Peterson was two-over-par after 12 holes of his second round, leaving him five shots off the lead on seven under, while defending champion Haydn Porteous - having managed to complete his round - was among the group on nine under after equalling his first-round score of 67.

Waring, who opened with a seven-under-par 65 in his first round, still has six holes remaining as more than 70 other players wait to complete their second round after heavy rain affected day one.

Fichardt was first back in the clubhouse with another round of 66 before Burmester, aided by four straight birdies from the eighth hole, joined his countryman on 11 under par after picking up five shots overall.

Kruyswijk might have made it a three-way tie had three bogeys not blotted his second round of 70, following five birdies himself.

Fichardt has dropped only one shot in the whole tournament - on the 10th hole during his second round - and the 41-year-old was pleased with his performance so far.

''I got off to a great start. I knew it was going to play long and I needed to get off to a good start and that I did,'' he told europeantour.com.

''I got to six under pretty quickly - after eight I was six under so I was very happy about that start.

''Unfortunately I made a bogey on the 10th and then birdied the 18th, so I ended off well. But I am very happy with 66.''

Waring was not on until the afternoon and began his second round two shots behind overnight leader Peterson.

He birdied the first two holes and gained three more shots on the turn to top the leaderboard after 11 holes. The 32-year-old from Birkenhead then safely made par at the 12th before play was halted at 18.42 local time.

The second round will resume at 7.00am on Saturday.

Day one report

English duo Aaron Rai and Paul Waring carded matching rounds of 65 before bad weather forced play to be suspended in the first round of the Joburg Open.

Playing just the third European Tour event of his career, Rai fired seven birdies in a flawless round on the East Course at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington, with Waring recording nine birdies and two bogeys.

That left the pair two shots behind clubhouse leader Paul Peterson, the left-handed American completing a brilliant 62 on the West Course before heavy rain, on an already-saturated course, forced play to be abandoned for the day.

Rai missed out on earning full playing privileges via the Challenge Tour in 2016 by less than 3,000 euros, and was only two shots away from gaining his card at the qualifying school.

The 21-year-old from Wolverhampton finished 45th in the Australian PGA Championship before Christmas and missed the cut in the World Super 6 in Perth last week, only arriving in South Africa on Monday.

"It's my first week in South Africa and my first time on the course, but I played it Tuesday and played it Wednesday," Rai said. "It's been a good start to the week so far.

"My game was pretty steady throughout, really. I drove it well, hit a few greens, made a few putts and also made a couple of up and downs when needed, so it was really solid throughout."

Peterson, who won the Czech Masters last season, added: "It was fun out there today. Making birdie on half the holes is never bad and bogey free to match. I put a new putter in play this week and it proved to be a good first round with it.

"I've been putting a lot of really good work in with my coaches and the consistency is getting better. I've always been someone who putted pretty well and hit good drives, but my iron play is improving, my wedge game is improving and when I'm missing greens I feel really really confident with what I'm doing around the greens."

South African players have won seven of the 10 editions of the Joburg Open, with Jbe Kruger the best-placed home player after a six-under 65 on the West Course.

Pre-tournament favourite and 2014 champion George Coetzee was five under par after 13 holes of his round.