Darren Fichardt

Fichardt's seventh appearance in The Open comes 24 years after he made his debut and seven years after he last played.

At the age of 48 – and 10 days after regaining his DP World Tour card with nothing to spare – Fichardt claimed the second of three Open Qualifying Series places on offer at November’s Joburg Open thanks to a closing 64.

It was the same event that gave him his spot in 2017. On that occasion, he beat Paul Waring and Stuart Manley for the 15th of 18 titles on his home Sunshine Tour, two of them Tour Championships.

It also counted as his fifth on the DP World Tour. After capturing the 2001 Sao Paulo Open and 2003 Qatar Masters, he had to wait more than nine years before lifting the St-Omer Open, then triumphed in the following season’s Africa Open.

He represented his country alongside Retief Goosen at the World Cup in 2000, the year he made his Open debut at St Andrews.

Reached 75th in the world in 2013, but went into the Joburg Open ranked 528th – and that after falling as low as 758th prior to his victory on the European Challenge Tour last July.