Andy DevaneyDarren Fichardt will take a four-shot lead into the final round of the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship after turning a potentially ugly afternoon at Trump International Golf Links, Aberdeen, into a three-under-par 69.
In conditions that allowed only seven players to break par, the South African went from three over for his round to eight under for the championship. Links golf can be wonderfully democratic: it gives everyone a problem, then waits to see who complains least.
A 69 Built the Hard Way
Fichardt’s round began with a double bogey at the second and worsened with another dropped shot at the sixth. At three over for the day, with strong winds pushing players around the New Course, damage limitation looked a perfectly respectable ambition.
Instead, he found six birdies across his final 11 holes.
“I’m very happy, especially where I started with a double on two. Those first couple of holes into the wind are really, really tricky,” said Fichardt.
“I didn’t think I was going to get to under-par, but luckily the last nine holes weren’t playing too tough.”
That may qualify as links understatement.
A back-nine 32 turned a vulnerable position into a commanding one, and Fichardt closed with birdies at 17 and 18. His approach to the par-five last finished eight feet from the hole; the eagle attempt stayed out, but the tap-in birdie still widened the gap to four.
It was not so much a recovery as a quiet mugging of the leaderboard.
The Par That Mattered More Than a Birdie
The most revealing hole was arguably the 15th.
Fichardt found water from the tee at the par five and was left with roughly 290 yards for his third. The round had already demanded one rescue operation. Here came another.
He escaped with par.
“I managed to make par, so that was definitely a momentum booster for me because I was quite despondent hitting the water there,” he said.
It was the sort of five that does considerably more for a scorecard than its arithmetic suggests. Two holes later came birdie at 17, then another at 18. A championship that had looked crowded suddenly developed a sizeable gap at the top.
Sjöland and Drysdale Refuse to Drift
Four shots behind, Keith Horne, David Drysdale and Patrik Sjöland share second at four under.
Horne, the overnight leader, had to absorb a two-over-par 74 but rescued a useful final-hole birdie after chipping to around a foot.
Sjöland travelled in the opposite direction, producing one of the day’s scarce sub-par rounds with a 69 containing five birdies and two bogeys.
“I play pretty good on links courses, and I think it’s just because I can use my imagination a little bit more,” said Sjöland.
“It’s not just throwing the ball in the air and moving it from A to B. Here you can hit so many different types of shots and especially around the greens you can use your imagination. I love to play this type of course.”
There was imagination, certainly, although Aberdeen’s wind was also asking for a certain amount of bloody-mindedness.
Drysdale supplied plenty of that. The Scot signed for a level-par 72 despite arriving in Aberdeen short of preparation after suffering a back problem in Portugal.
“It’s just a grind out there. You’ve got to really try and focus on every shot. Nothing’s a gimme,” said Drysdale.
On this evidence, the course apparently agreed.
Donaldson and Lawrie Keep the Door Ajar
Jamie Donaldson sits at three under after a one-over-par 73, five shots off Fichardt’s lead.
The 2014 Ryder Cup hero nearly signed off in more spectacular fashion, hitting his approach to six feet at the par-five 18th before missing the eagle putt and settling for birdie.
“It was just a case of hanging on, really. I did quite well at doing that, so we’re still in the hunt tomorrow,” said Donaldson.
Paul Lawrie is another shot back at two under alongside Johan Edfors and Mikael Lundberg. The 1999 Open Champion had moved into contention before finding the water at 17 and eventually returning a 73.
On a calmer course, six shots might look a lengthy Sunday assignment. On links terrain being bullied by the weather, arithmetic can become surprisingly negotiable.
Sunday Brings Unfinished Business
Fichardt’s four-shot cushion carries an extra edge because Aberdeen has already left him with a bill to settle.
Twelve months ago he came agonisingly close to this title before losing a play-off to Bo Van Pelt. Now he returns to the New Course with a different kind of pressure: not the scramble to remain involved, but the obligation to finish what he has started.
Horne, Drysdale and Sjöland lead the pursuit at four under. Donaldson is close enough to matter at three under, while Lawrie, Edfors and Lundberg sit at two under should the course decide to become mischievous again.
The final round of the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship begins on Sunday at Trump International Golf Links, Aberdeen.
Fichardt has already shown he can recover from a dreadful opening, a watery detour and a wind with opinions of its own. One round remains.
Four shots is a cushion. It is not a deed of ownership.
