Cape Town – South Africa’s Darren Fichardt has earned his European Tour card for next season at the Tour’s Qualifying School Final Stage at the Lumine Golf Club in Spain.
Fichardt shot a final-round 69 to finish on 13-under par to sit in 22nd position – as Denmark’s Benjamin Poke ran away with the title.
Only 28 players earned their life-changing European Tour cards.
Fichardt was the only South African out of the 12-man contingent who made it through to the Final Qualifying Stage to secure his card.
Those missing out included Wilco Nienaber, Louis de Jager, Bryce Easton, Garrick Higgo, JC Ritchie, Daniel van Tonder, Neil Schietekat, Jacques Kruyswijk, Trevor Fisher Jnr, Garth Mulroy and Jake Roos.
The 2019 European Tour Qualifying School was contested over 252 holes in three stages across 14 different venues.
A record number of 1 063 entrants bid for one of the coveted European Tour cards, surpassing the previous record of 1 026 from 2017.
Fichardt is a five-time European Tour winner with his last victory coming at the Joburg Open in 2017.
Fichardt will compete on the European Tour throughout the 2020 season, starting with the Alfred Dunhill Championship from November 28-December 1.
– Compiled by Lynn Butler
Heading to the @EuropeanTour ??
Poke
Havret
Cañizares
Chawrasia
Højgaard
Canter
Cockerill
Pigem
Sciot-Siegrist
Choi
Saddier
Valimaki
Veerman
Porteous
McLeod
Armitage
Kim
Figueiredo
Caldwell
Dredge
Coupland
Fichardt
van Meijel
Tree
Karlberg
Lemke
Whitnell
Gonnet— European Tour Q-School (@ETQSchool) November 20, 2019
