2018 BMW PGA Championship: SA duo one shot off the pace

South Africa’s Dean Burmester and Darren Fichardt set the West Course alight during day one of the BMW PGA Championship to end just one shot behind Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard at Wentworth on Thursday.

Fichardt, who had missed the cut on seven previous attempts, shot a flawless six-under-par round of 66 and was soon joined by his compatriot top of the leaderboard for most of the day until the Dane birdied the par-five 18th.

Burmester got off to a sluggish start with only a bogey to show after five holes. But he soon kicked into gear with a birdie at the next to make the turn in 35 blows at one-under. The 28-year-old saved the best for last though with a spectacular back nine which included four birdies and an eagle two at the par-four 16th. He played the last seven holes six-under-par.

But Fichardt, given his poor history at the event, stole the show with three birdies on each side.

“Obviously I’m very, very happy. On this golf course, everything’s got to be good. So this time of the year, usually for me has never been good but I took quite a few weeks off to prepare for this stretch of events. Looks like I made a good choice. We’ll see what happens but I’m playing well.

Fichardt, a five-time winner on the European Tour, said his round could have been even better.

“You know, I was playing well and felt like I could birdie every hole. I know the main thing for me, the last 12 years, it’s crucial to hit fairways. If you hit fairways, you’ve got a good chance at the greens. There’s a lot of sucker pins out there, so you need to respect the course, but there are a few birdies out there and I putted really, really well. So the opportunities I did have, I did make.

The Zimbabwe-born Burmester, who won the 2017 Tshwane Open, believes his opening round could just be the perfect trigger for a successful season.

“Yeah, it’s been quiet. It’s not been the season I really wanted, barring one round in Mexico, it’s been really quiet. This is a good place to kind of kick-start the year and I’m looking forward to the next three days.

Despite Fichardt’s dreadful record at Wentworth, Burmester said it is a course and a tournament that he and his fellow South Africans find to their liking.

“Yeah, the South Africans are all geared up. Most of us have had a bit of time off, so it’s been nice, nice to get back and I think all of us love Wentworth.”

– Additional reporting by AFP