European Tour: Joburg Open top 10 power rankings

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - FEBRUARY 23: George Coetzee of South Africa hits his tee shot on the 9th during day one of the Joburg Open at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club on February 23, 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images) /

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JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – FEBRUARY 26: Darren Fichardt of South Africa holds the trophy as he celebrates winning The Joburg Open during completion of the suspended third and final round of The Joburg Open at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club on February 26, 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images) /

The Joburg Open champion, Darren Fichardt, only had to wait 10 months to defend his title. Fichardt, 42, is from just up the road in Pretoria.

He enters the week in good form with a T6 at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and a T16 last week in Mauritius for his two starts this fall.

Fichardt won this event in February in dramatic fashion with a birdie on the 72nd hole. It was on the heels of an unimpressive stretch of golf that sent him into a solid 2017 calendar year that saw him pick up two more top-10s.

"“The form I have been having the last couple of months has been horrendous but I decided at the beginning of the year that I was going to play as many tournaments as I can and just get my game right. And yeah, it worked out, Fichardt said in his post-tournament press conference. “It’s good to win again. It’s just nice to see hard work paying off. It’s very nice!”"

Weather was a factor last week; we’ll see if he can play through it again this time.

Fichardt is not a long hitter (143rd driving distance), but was a modest 63rd in accuracy. He’s also 54th in scrambling and 79th in GIR.

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