Dean Burmester, Darren Fichardt, Aaron Rai and Robert Rock are all set for one more push in the 2018 European Tour season after playing their way into the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
The four men were on the outside looking in at the start of the week at the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player, outside the top 60 on the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex and knowing they needed a good week in Sun City to make it to the season finale.
Rai, Burmester and Fichardt all made it into that top 60 as they finished in the top 11 at Gary Player Country Club and while Rock maintained his spot in 64th, that was enough to make him the last man in after withdrawals.
Aaron Rai (-5, 8th – Rises from 75th to 55th)
The Englishman is enjoying an excellent rookie season after breaking onto the European Tour via three wins on the Challenge Tour last term. He missed four of his first five cuts but a top ten at the Hero Indian Open kick-started his campaign and he finished fifth at the BMW International Open before securing another top ten in the Rolex Series at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open. Another Rolex Series top ten in South Africa will now see him make his first visit to the season-end spectacular.
Dean Burmester (-3, T11th – Rises from 63rd to 56th)
The South African will be itching to have another crack at Jumeirah Golf Estates after finishing in a tie for fourth on his debut last season. He finished 42nd in the Rankings with the help of a win at the Tshwane Open and was just two shots behind winner Jon Rahm in the final event of the season. 2018 has brought just one top ten but his two best results have been in Rolex Series events, and even four dropped shots in his last six holes in Sun City could not keep him from Dubai.
Darren Fichardt (-4, T9th – Rises from 72nd to 58th)
The South African will be making his third appearance at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, having finished 21st in 2013 and 31st in 2014. Just missed out at 68th in the Rankings after winning the Joburg Open last season, and looked like narrowly missing out again with three top tens this season before South Africa. Started his week with a 74 but a 67 catapulted him up the leaderboard before rounds of 71-72 over the weekend earned another precious top ten.
Robert Rock (-1 T21st – Remains in 64th)
The Englishman will end a six-year absence from the season finale next week, teeing it for the first time since 2012 when he won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. His best result in neighbouring Dubai came the previous year when he finished in the top ten and this will be his fifth season-ending appearance. He missed four of his first six cuts in 2018 but has only missed two in 17 since March and that consistency has seen him through to the very end of the campaign.
