Darren Fichardt has parlayed three begins off Monday qualifiers during the 2026 season into the forty third place in Charles Schwab Cup standings.
Now he’s in place for higher issues. Fichardt, 51, shot a red-hot 11-under 61 on Saturday in the second spherical of the Simmons Bank Championship, where he was on 59 watch for a good portion of the day.
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Fichardt opened with a par but then went birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie to get to 5 under through 5. After a par on No. 6, he strung collectively 5 straight birdies to get to 10 under through 11.
He cooled off from there, making six straight pars before closing with a birdie at the par-5 18th to post a 28-33—61. He walked off the course at 14 under and held a three-shot lead with two golfers at 11 under.
“It felt amazing. The first 11 holes was awesome,” he said after his spherical.
His 61 matches his profession low (he also has a 61 on the DP World Tour) and it’s a event report.
Darren Fichardt performs his shot from the fourth tee during the second spherical of the Simmons Bank Championship at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock, Arkansas.
One of those chasing is Zach Johnson, who leads the circuit with six wins. He had the first-round lead after his 8-under 64. He was at 11 under when Fichardt signed his card. Also at 11 under is Henrik Stenson.
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Stephen Ames and Steven Alker were tied for fifth at 10 under late in their rounds.
As for Fichardt, he’s vaulted to thirteenth in the projected standings, safely inside the prime 36 for the Charles Schwab Cup Championships in two weeks at Phoenix Country Club.
“I’d just like to try and do the best that I can and wherever it takes me, it takes me,” he said. “Obviously a win would be great, top 36 would be awesome. Just go out tomorrow and just play and try and do the best I can and see where it takes me.”
Only the prime 36 make the season finale. Another bonus of making it to Phoenix is that the prime 36 secure 2027 PGA Tour Champions tour playing cards. That would be a enormous relieft for Fichardt.
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“I don’t want to think too much about that because this year was, yeah, it was really tough doing six pre-qualifiers and finishing eighth or seventh and then having to wait to see if either gets into next week,” he said. “It was just very, I only played 12 events but it was a very stressful 12 tournaments. So yeah, it was a long year.”
Go to Golfweek.com to keep tabs on the newest information from the PGA Tour Champions.
This article initially appeared on Golfweek: Darren Fichardt goes on 59 watch, leads PGA Tour Champions occasion, climbs in Charles Schwab factors
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