South African golfer secures emotional victory in Bahrain Championship presented by Bapco Energies

TDT | Manama                                                      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli captured the third DP World Tour title of his career with victory at the Bahrain Championship presented by Bapco Energies yesterday.

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa attended the final day of play at The Royal Golf Club. HM the King presented Frittelli with the winner’s trophy, beautifully designed like a traditional Bahraini dhow.

Also on hand were HM the King’s humanitarian work and youth affairs representative and Supreme Council for Youth and Sports (SCYS) chairman His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa; SCYS first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority president and Bahrain Olympic Committee chief His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa; Royal Golf Club chairman Captain Waleed Al Alawi; and DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley, along with other high-ranking offi- cials.

Frittelli carded a closing round of one-under 71 to reach 13 under for the tournament, two clear of fellow countryman Zander Lombard and Sweden’s Jesper Svensson. It was an emotional win for the 33-yearold, who struggled for form on the PGA Tour last year and admitted he considered quitting the game.

“ It feels great, it feels awesome,” said Frittelli, whose last DP World Tour win was six years ago at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. “It ’s been a long road the last five or six years since I left the DP World Tour and went to the States.

I had a pretty tough year last year in America but it feels awesome to be back on top right now.

“Last year there were a couple of times when I thought about giving the game up to be honest and looking for something else to be honest. I found some resolve at the end of last year and did some good work with my physio and trainers and coaches and I’m glad I persevered.”

Starting the final round with a twoshot lead over compatriot Ockie Strydom, Frittelli struggled over the front nine and was one over at the turn after dropping a shot on the par three seventh.

Another bogey followed on the next par three, the 12th, and with none of the lead trio making a move, it looked like the winner may come from one of the earlier groups with Lombard putting plenty of red on the board.

But Frittelli dug deep and his round finally sprang to life with back to back birdies on the 12th and 13th.

He restored his two-shot lead after sinking a long putt for birdie on the par three 16th to give him some breathing space as he parred the final two holes to close out his first worldwide victory since the 2019 John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour.

Pressure

“I felt the pressure from word go, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.

“I just couldn’t get anything going, couldn’t get any rhythm. But I knew I had two backto-back par fives (on the back nine).

My strength has been my driving the whole week , it’s the strongest part of my game.

I felt if I could get to those two par fives on the back side within one or two shots I could do a bit of leapfrog action and luckily that’s what happened.

The putt on that first par five, the 13th, was huge to get that momentum.

“I’d prefer to be five shots ahead coming down the stretch if I could be, that would be a whole lot easier. But I think it shows my mental toughness and the focus I have and those things that you can’t really quantify. I was swinging it great all week and then, all of a sudden, I couldn’t hit it on the planet on the Sunday round so I’m glad I managed to have the resolve to finish the job.”