Fichardt Storms To Staysure PGA Seniors Championship Victory

Darren Fichardt put last year’s play-off disappointment behind him to win the 2026 Staysure PGA Seniors Championship by five shots at Trump International Golf Links, Aberdeen.

Twelve months after losing to Bo Van Pelt on the first extra hole, the South African returned with what he described earlier in the week as “unfinished business” and closed with a four-under-par 68 to finish on 12-under-par and secure the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship title.

“I was thinking about it last night. It just slipped out of my hands last year,” said the five-time DP World Tour winner.

Oldest profesisonal tournament in senior golf

“The weather was completely different today, so I was a little nervous and didn’t know what to expect. I thought the guys were going to go really low.”

Fichardt began the final round with a four-shot advantage and initially looked set to pull away, opening with consecutive birdies to move to ten-under. Successive bogeys at the sixth and seventh brought him back to the field, however, as Mikael Lundberg and Jamie Donaldson began to apply pressure.

Playing two groups ahead, Sweden’s Lundberg birdied the fourth and sixth before adding further gains at the 12th and 15th, while Donaldson recovered from an early double bogey with birdies at the fourth, seventh and eighth.

Fichardt responded with back-to-back birdies around the turn, but a bogey at the 11th saw his advantage cut to just two as Donaldson moved firmly into contention.

The Welshman’s challenge suffered a costly setback with a disastrous triple-bogey at the 13th, while Lundberg continued his charge and eventually birdied the last to complete a five-under-par 67 and set the clubhouse target at seven-under.

For Fichardt, a testing par save at the 14th proved an important moment.

“The putt on 14 for par was crucial for me,” he said. “I felt like I was all over the place when things weren’t going my way. When I made that, I said to my wife, ‘Okay, I think we’ve got it.’”

A birdie at the par-five 15th strengthened his position before Fichardt finished the championship in style. A majestic 4-iron into the par-five 18th finished just a couple of feet from the hole, leaving a tap-in eagle to complete a 68 and a 12-under-par total of 276.

“I started stumbling a bit midway through the round, but then I reset and pulled myself together, which was good, and had a nice finish there on 18,” he added.

The victory capped a week which provided a complete test of links golf, from the wind and rain which made Saturday particularly demanding to the calmer conditions which brought significantly lower scoring on Sunday.

“It definitely tests your character, that’s for sure,” said Fichardt. “I hit every single shot this week – low, high, left to right, right to left, punches, everything. Links golf certainly tests every facet of your game.”

The improved scoring conditions also saw Peter Baker make history on the New Course, firing a seven-under-par 65 to set the course record and climb from three-over to four-under, where he shared fourth with Johan Edfors.

After struggling with his game in recent weeks, the Englishman credited improved iron play for an eight-shot improvement on his third-round 73.

“I just hit some good iron shots, really,” said Baker. “Set yourself up off the tee, hit some more fairways, and then hit some really good iron shots, which gave me opportunities, and obviously holed the putts, which has been missing of late.”

Two-time Ryder Cup player David Howell closed with a 69 to finish sixth on three-under, while 2005 U.S. Open Champion Michael Campbell matched that score to share seventh on two-under.

Campbell finished alongside Stephen Gallacher, who led the Scottish contingent after a closing 71. Greig Hutcheon and Alastair Forsyth shared 13th on one-under, while David Drysdale, who began the day in contention, finished tied 18th on one-over after a final-round 77.

Drysdale shared that position with tournament host Colin Montgomerie, who closed with a two-under-par 70 and was pleased with the response to the New Course as it hosted professional tournament golf for the first time.

“I think the greens are super, and the design is good, and I do hope the lads have enjoyed it,” said Montgomerie. “I’m getting feedback from them, and they appear to be, so that’s good.”

Fichardt leaves Aberdeen with the title that eluded him 12 months ago and as the first professional tournament winner on the New Course at Trump International Golf Links.

Attention now turns to the Staysure English Legends at Chart Hills Golf Club from August 28–30, the next stop on the 2026 Staysure Legends Tour schedule.