Michael Hollick kept the door firmly closed on prolific winner Darren Fichardt on Sunday as he shot an impressive final-round 67 to win the FBC Zim Open by two strokes at Royal Harare Golf Club, claiming his second Sunshine Tour title.
Related: Michael Hollick makes his move in Royal Harare
The Mount Edgecombe Country Club golfer and Fichardt, the 48-year-old with 18 Sunshine Tour titles and five on the DP World Tour, engaged in a tense final round, last two-ball duel on Sunday, with Hollick starting the fourth round with a one-stroke lead.
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But with Hollick showing incredible composure and control, he never allowed the vastly-experienced Fichardt to get ahead. Hollick, who turns 37 on Wednesday, had opened up a three-shot lead by the fourth hole, but, unsurprisingly given his pedigree, Fichardt staged a fierce late charge that saw him close the gap to just one stroke on the 16th green.
Fichardt, who birdied the par-five 16th, would have drawn level but for Hollick sinking a clutch 30-foot par-putt. The Durban resident then birdied the 17th to go two ahead and almost certainly quell Fichardt’s challenge.
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“Thanks to Darren for a helluva battle, well-played and we certainly had a good go at each other out there,” Hollick said at the prizegiving.
Fichardt closed with a 68, recovering from a bogey at the par-three second hole with three successive birdies from the fifth to the seventh hole. He dropped another shot at the par-three 11th, as did Hollick, and they both rebounded with birdies on the par-five 12th. Fichardt then began to push really hard with birdies on the par-three 15th and on 16, but Hollick held his nerve and repelled his admirable adversary.
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Hollick showed his maturity on the front nine as he started patiently with three pars before embarking on his own hat-trick of birdies from the fourth to the sixth hole. He gained another shot on Fichardt with his birdie on the par-four 10th and, apart from the par-save on 16, he also showed his BMT with a superb approach to four feet to set up his crucial birdie on the penultimate hole.
Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent also shot a 68 on Sunday to climb into third place on the final leaderboard on 14-under-par, six behind Hollick. His younger brother, Kieran, shot a 71 to finish in a tie for fourth with Sweden’s Fredrik From (67) on 12-under.
A third Zimbabwean finished in the top-10 in Benjamin Follett-Smith (71), who shared sixth place with MJ Viljoen (71) on 11-under-par.
