SportsTuesday, November 3
Darren Fichardt wins the Simmons Bank Championship with an eagle on the 18th at Pleasant Valley
The Today in Little Rock team
If you skipped Sunday at Pleasant Valley Country Club, you missed a finish. Darren Fichardt, 51, won the Simmons Bank Championship for his first PGA Tour Champions victory, beating Zach Johnson by one shot and breaking Steven Alker's tournament record by two.
Johnson led by a stroke on the 17th until Fichardt's 15-foot birdie putt tied them at 20 under. On 18, Fichardt put a 3-wood on the green and sank an eagle putt from about 8 feet. His wife Natasha, who caddied for him, was there to celebrate.
Fichardt and Johnson both shot 64, but Fichardt won by one
| Player | Age | Final round | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darren Fichardt | 51 | 64 (8 under) | Won by 1 shot |
| Zach Johnson | 50 | 64 (8 under) | Lost by 1 shot |
Source: The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
- Points standings: Fichardt moved from 46th to 17th
- 2027: he earned PGA Tour Champions status
- First-time winners in 2026: Fichardt is the seventh
- Next: Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix, Nov. 12-15
Johnson needed a win to catch Stewart Cink in the Schwab Cup standings. Instead, Cink's 10th-place finish left him just over 186,000 points ahead.
A Johnson win would have reshaped the Schwab Cup race
- $365,000
- winner's share of the purse
- 730,000
- points available to the winner, with playoff events paying double
- 503,882
- points Johnson trailed Cink before the week
Source: The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Also in the crowd: Jay Fox, a 67-year-old Pleasant Valley member and former Arkansas State Golf Association executive director. He made it out for the first time Sunday, after recent health issues kept him away until the last day.
Sources: The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, nwaonline.com