JOHANNESBURG – Darren Fichardt on Friday took a one shot lead into the weekend following the second round of the Sunshine Tour's R1.65 million Zimbabwe Open at Royal Harare Golf Club in Harare.
Second place Jake Roos actually lead Fichardt following a birdie on the 16th, before bogeying both the 17th and 18th holes, finishing on a eight-under 136.
“It was tough on the greens for me,” said Fichardt after carding a three-under 69, taking him to nine-under for the tournament.
“I hit the ball really well, a lot better than yesterday, but the short stick didn’t work as well as I wanted it to.
“I just kept hitting my approaches on the wrong side of the hole. You get days when you get onto the green and you have an inside left or inside right putt, but today I had huge, swinging putts. I didn’t give myself many opportunities to really make birdie.
“But I made the putts I needed to make, which is good, and I made the three-footers, the six-footers for pars, but I’m happy the way I hit the ball today.”
Fichardt picked up four birdies and a solitary bogey over his second round.
It was Roos however who lit up the course with four birdies and two eagles before dropping those two shots on the final pair of holes.
Chasing Roos and Fichardt are Louis de Jager, Darryn Lloyd and Ulrich van den Berg, who were two shots off the lead and one behind Roos.
Lloyd, the overnight leader at six under, saw his round curtailed by a double bogey on the 16th.
“I played nicely all day really, and then on 16, I missed the green right. I had a really tricky chip from there,” said Lloyd.
“I left it next to a bunker and I had to play a left-handed shot. I didn’t do so well with that, then I chipped on finally and missed the putt.”
De Jager, who carded a 71 on Thursday, changed putters overnight which did the trick for him as he carded a fine 66.
“I putted much better, and it showed in my score,” he said.
Van den Berg made four birdies to turn on 32 after starting on the 10th, a bogey on the third, and then two more birdies on six and eight took him to 67 for the second round and a share of third.
Fichardt is seeking his second victory of the season following his triumph at the Africa Open. He also finished second in the Tshwane Open and had a share of seventh in the Dimension Data Pro-Am. – Sapa