Darren Fichardt leads Tshwane Open after day one
Darren Fichardt of South Africa fired a seven-under par 65, in the opening round of the Tshwane Open, to take a one-stroke victory over Sweden’s Bjorn Åkesson, on Thursday, February 28, 2013.
The tournament is being staged at the Copperleaf Golf & Country Estate, featuring some the best European Tour players from different parts of the world.
Starting on the back nine of the course, Fichardt marked a strong start, as he birdied the 10th and the 13th hole, before recording a hat-trick of birdies, starting from the 15th hole.
He then parred the 18th hole to reach the turn in five-under. The back nine of the course also witnessed him playing some decent shots, as he gained another three shots, against a lone bogey, to finish the day on top of the leaderboard.
Talking to the http://enewsportal.com/ officials, he expressed his pleasure in making a strong start on the back nine of the course.
“I got off to a great start with two birdies through the first three,” said the Qualifying School graduate. “Back nine I kept playing really good and made a lot of putts. That’s what you need to do to shoot low scores”.
“The swing is good and I’m putting well,” he added. “This golf course is awesome - it’s very fair. The greens are very soft, so you're able to attack the flags. I'm happy with seven under to start off with”.
He now plans to remain consistent in the upcoming rounds, in a bid to take home the second European Tour title of his career, in as many weeks – he won the Africa Open fortnight ago.
“I'll take it one day at a time and do my best this week,” he said.
Åkesson, in the meantime, also played brilliantly well in the first round, to get into contention for the top spot. He also joined Fichardt on top of the leaderboard for a small period of time, before he slipped down to the second position, after conceding
a bogey on the 17th hole.
He now plans to make another charge on the leaderboard, to enter the weekend with the top spot in hand.
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