Fichardt set the clubhouse target with his morning round of eight-under-par 64, and was joined there in the afternoon by Vorster as both players never dropped a single shot on day one of this Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned tournament.
They are one stroke clear of Sebastian Soderberg, Hennie O’Kennedy, Joakim Lagergren and Nick Bachem. Play was suspended at 6:27pm because of fading light and with a few players still finishing off their first rounds. But none of them will challenge the current lead.
Momentum proved a key factor for both Fichardt and Vorster on Thursday.
Fichardt teed off the 10th and started his round with two consecutive birdies and never looked back.
“I just carried on with that momentum. I didn’t have a great warm-up so for my first two holes I was just focused on swinging it easy and hitting fairways and greens. I managed to make those two birdies and that was me. I just stayed consistent for the rest of the round. Once you get off to a hot start there’s no fixing up to do. You just keep riding the wave,” he said.
Vorster also enjoyed a momentum shift in his round. After missing a few short birdie putts towards the end of the front nine, the young star made an eagle on the 10th which sparked a run of four birdies in six holes thereafter.
“I’m very happy. After I missed a few short birdie putts on the front nine my caddie Michal just told me to be patient. On 10 I hit a great second shot and made the putt for eagle and that shifted the momentum for me. I hit the ball really well and gave myself plenty of opportunities and ended up making a few putts so a really solid start to the tournament.”
While the 47-year-old Fichardt is hunting his sixth DP World Tour victory, the 21-year-old Vorster is still in his rookie season on the Sunshine Tour and seeking his maiden professional victory this week.
Vorster has challenged on a few occasions already and is clearly starting to feel more and more comfortable in this position. “It’s a great spot to be in but the gameplan for the second round will be the same – hit fairways and greens and hopefully make a few putts,” he said.
Fichardt is also doing his best to stay in the present.
“The golf course is in excellent condition and there are low numbers out there. A good start always makes it easier for the rest of the week. But I’ll just go out and start the tournament from scratch again in the second round. I’ll play one-round tournaments mentally for myself.”
INCOMPLETE SCORES:
-8 - Darren Fichardt, Martin Vorster
-7 - Sebastian Soderberg, Hennie O'Kennedy, Joakim Lagergren, Nick Bachem
-6 - Calum Hill, Aaron Cockerill, Jayden Schaper, Ewen Ferguson, George Coetzee, Gavin Green, Niklas Norgaard, Martin Simonsen
-5 - Sami Valimaki, Nicolai Von Dellingshausen, Hurly Long, Daniel van Tonder, Andy Sullivan, Paul Waring, Daniel Gavins, Wilco Nienaber, Benjamin Follett-Smith, Joost Luiten, Mikko Korhonen, Julien Brun, Trevor Fisher Jnr, Adam Breen [17]
-4 - Romain Langasque, Jake Redman, Matthew Baldwin, Jbe Kruger, Thriston Lawrence, Oliver Wilson, Wynand Dingle, Yeongsu Kim, Jacques Kruyswijk, Tom McKibbin, Marcel Schneider, Robin Sciot-Siegrist, Stefan Wears-Taylor, Zander Lombard, Alexander Knappe, Jamie Donaldson, Oliver Hundeboll, Kalle Samooja, Kyle Barker, Joshua Lee, Jeong Weon Ko [17]
-3 - Clement Sordet, Dylan Mostert, Ross Fisher, Ockie Strydom, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Ruan Korb, Luke Brown, Hennie du Plessis, James Hart du Preez, Merrick Bremner, John Catlin, Louis Albertse, Rourke van der Spuy, Neil Schietekat, Louis de Jager, Simon Forsstrom, Daniel Brown, Pedro Figueiredo, Heinrich Bruiners, Bradley Bawden, Keenan Davidse, Oliver Bekker, Mikael Lindberg, Jordan Smith, JJ Senekal, Philip Eriksson, Justin Walters, MJ Viljoen, Martin Rohwer, Sam Hutsby [17]
-2 - Albert Venter, Rupert Kaminski, Jeremy Freiburghaus, Kristian Krogh Johannessen, Brandon Stone, Tristen Strydom, Connor Syme, Ma Chengyao, Lukas Nemecz, Anton Karlsson, David Ravetto, Lyle Rowe, Luke Jerling, Julien Guerrier, Todd Clements, Luca Filippi [17]
-1 - Wil Besseling, Shaun Norris, Matthew Southgate, Tapio Pulkkanen, David Law, Jaco Van Zyl, Dylan Naidoo, Jacques P de Villiers, Michael Palmer, Hennie Otto, Stephen Ferreira, Pieter Moolman, Jaco Prinsloo, Daan Huizing, Jeff Winther, Ruan Conradie, Bryce Easton, Joel Stalter
Par- Thomas Aiken, Adrian Otaegui, Nacho Elvira, Estiaan Conradie, CJ du Plessis, John Parry, Alejandro Del Rey, Jason Smith, Musiwalo Nethunzwi, Jacques Blaauw, Casey Jarvis, Anthony Michael, Herman Loubser, John Axelsen
+1 - Siyanda Mwandla, Gunner Wiebe, JC Ritchie, Freddy Schott, Combrinck Smit, Jens Dantorp, Deon Germishuys, Justin Harding, Adri Arnaus, Dale Whitnell
+2 - Matthieu Pavon, Mateusz Gradecki, Jaco Ahlers, Makhetha Mazibuko, Franklin Manchest [17]
+3 - Paul Boshoff, Tobias Eden, Callum Mowat, Jean Hugo, Dan Bradbury
+4 - Thanda Mavundla, James Pennington [17]
+5 - Alexander Levy, Adriel Poonan
+6 - Evance Vukeya, Alex Haindl, Manu Gandas
+9 - Therion Nel
+11 - Tristin Galant