Greyville Dividends

GRANT WINTER

DARREN Fichardt boomed a fine drive up the middle of the par-5 eighth hole on Royal Johannesburg & Kensington’s sodden East Course yesterday in round two of the Joburg Open, leaving him 295 yards to the flag.

The 41-year-old pulled his three-metal out the bag, addressed the ball and – with that characteristic, super smooth swing which has served him so well in over 330 European Tour events and countless more on the Sunshine Tour – hit a cracking shot onto the green, before holing a 25-footer for a splendid eagle three.

“Yeah, I certainly got off to a fast start because I was now six under through eight holes (after birdies at 1, 3, 4 and 6). I did go to sleep at No 10 where I made bogey from the middle of the fairway but seven straight pars followed and I managed to birdie the par-5 last from a greenside bunker which was a nice way to finish,” said the consummate professional who plays out of Centurion Country Club.

That all added up to a sixunder-par 66 to go with his five-under 66 on the par-71 West Course in round one to give him the clubhouse lead on 11-under 132 in this R16.5 million event.

Jacques Kruyswijk, also playing out of Centurion, was lying second on 133 following a 70 on the East with defending champion Haydn Porteous one shot further back on 134, alongside Swede Anton Karlsson, Wales’ Stuart Manley and England’s Aaron Rai, following a 67 on the West Course.

Because of all the rain delays, the second round could not be completed yesterday with American Paul Peterson, who led the first round with a sizzling 62 on the West, one of those players still out on the course although he was two over through 12 on the East so was losing momentum.

Looking pretty, though, was England’s Paul Waring who – after 12 holes on the West – had moved to 12 under for the tournament, one ahead of Fichardt and whether he leads at the halfway mark will be determined early this morning. Also, Dean Burmester – after playing 15 holes on the East – was 11 under for the tournament.

Fichardt, who has five European Tour titles to his name and has won 12 times on the Sunshine Tour, said after his round that last season, when it came to chipping and putting, had been his worst in his 23 years as a professional.

“So I’ve been working really hard on that part of my game, and suddenly I’m standing over putts and thinking I’m going to hole every one.”

The 24-year-old Kruyswijk, who won the Cape Town Open last November, is growing in confidence and feels he is wellequipped to make a charge in the final two rounds here, while Porteous says he has “found something” in his game after a tough six-month spell of a few too many missed cuts.

Sunshine Tour Order of Merit leader Brandon Stone was six under through 15 holes on the East which moved him to seven under overall, while George Coetzee – one of the pre-tournament favourites – could only manage a disappointing 72 on the West and he is on five under. RACE 1: Win: 4 R7.80. Places: 4 R2.70; 2 R1.40; 1 R1.10. Swingers: 2x4 R6.40; 1x4 R4.60; 1x2 R2.50. Exacta: 4x2 R41.90. Trifecta: 4x2x1 R141.00. Quartet: 4x2x1x6 R976.80. Tote Favourite: 1. Scratched: Nil. RACE 2: Win: 2 R6.60. Places: 2 R1.70; 1 R1.50; 11 R6.80. Swingers: 1x2 R4.60; 2x11 R23.60; 1x11 R17.20. Exacta: 2x1 R37.90. Trifecta: 2x1x11 R512.30. Quartet: 2x1x11x12 R1454.40. ,Double: 4x2 R96.80 RACE 3: Win: 5 R4.40. Places: 5 R1.70; 2 R1.00; 3 R1.90. Swingers: 2x5 R2.30; 3x5 R3.30; 2x3 R2.80. Exacta: 5x2 R14.00. Trifecta: 5x2x3 R39.80. Quartet: 5x2x3x8 R362.00. ,Double: 2x5 R66.90 Pick 3: 4x2x5 R881.40 RACE 4: Win: 7 R19.80. Places: 7 R4.70; 5 R1.50; 2 R4.20. Swingers: 5x7 R8.90; 2x7 R23.80; 2x5 R8.80. Exacta: 7x5 R98.50. Trifecta: 7x5x2 R2138.00. Quartet: 7x5x2x6 R9353.30. ,Double: 5x7 R112.90 Pick 3: 2x5x7 R1972.40 RACE 5: Win: 9 R10.90. Places: 9 R3.00; 8 R2.50; 2 R2.10. Swingers: 8x9 R12.10; 2x9 R8.80; 2x8 R9.40. Exacta: 9x8 R79.70. Trifecta: 9x8x2 R558.10. Quartet: 9x8x2x6 R3343.80. ,Double: 7x9 R98.60 Pick 3: 5x7x9 R1326.50 RACE 6: Win: 1 R2.40. Places: 1 R1.40; 5 R1.90; 6 R2.00. Swingers: 1x5 R3.20; 1x6 R4.20; 5x6 R7.90. Exacta: 1x5 R12.80. Trifecta: 1x5x6 R57.20. Quartet: 1x5x6x4 R217.10. ,Double: 9x1 R32.40 Pick 3: 7x9x1,9 R1036.40 RACE 7: Win: 10 R12.50. Places: 10 R4.10; 8 R4.30; 6 R2.70. Swingers: 8x10 R25.10; 6x10 R13.40; 6x8 R20.20. Exacta: 10x8 R169.30. Trifecta: 10x8x6 R1586.30. Quartet: 10x8x6x2 R10757.30. ,Double: 1x10 R40.50 Pick 3: 9x1,9x10 R468.90 RACE 8: Win: 9 R16.10. Places: 9 R3.80; 7 R2.90; 1 R2.00. Swingers: 7x9 R17.70; 1x9 R13.60; 1x7 R8.10. Exacta: 9x7 R110.30. Trifecta: 9x7x1 R1126.60. Quartet: 9x7x1x10 R11567.40. ,Double: 10x9 R379.70 Pick 3: 1,9x10x9 R2936.70 BIPOT: 1st : 2,4 2nd : 1,2 3rd : 1,2,5 4th : 5,7,8 5th : 8,9 6th : 1,5,9 Net Pool = R 175612.69 Tickets = 378.24 Dividend = R 464.20 JACKPOT: 7x9x1,9x10 R6924.30 PICK 6: 5x7x9x1,9x10x9 R886134.50 Pick 6: Carry Over R 766990.97 PLACE ACCUMULATOR: 1,2,11x1,2,3,5x2,5,7,8x2,8,9x1,5,6,9x8, 10x1,7,9 R831.20