Dylan Frittelli enters the final round of the Bahrain Championship with a two-stroke lead and will be looking to make the most of his chances on the DP World Tour.
The South African won twice on the European-based circuit in 2017, but switched to the PGA Tour 12 months later and lifted the trophy at the 2019 John Deere Classic in his rookie season in the United States.
He finished between 126th and 126th on the DP World Tour last season, missing the cut or withdrawing in 23 of his 27 starts, which cost him a full spot on the tour. A new exemption category for five athletes per event has given them a lifeline. Ranked 200th in the 2023 FedEx Cup rankings.
The Frenchman, who twice finished in the top 20 at events in his home country before Christmas, said he was “invigorated” to be back at his old stomping grounds this week, starting his first round at the windy Royal Golf Club. He took pole position after three rounds of 69. First win in about 5 years.
complete leaderboard
“The important thing is just to be aggressive,” he said. “When the wind is blowing, it’s easy to be conservative and lay up and hit soft shots, but tomorrow I’ll try to get as many birdies as possible.
“If I’m one shot behind, I’ll try to make it a two-stroke lead, and if I’m two shots behind, I’ll try to make it a three-stroke lead. That’s my goal and my mindset for tomorrow.”
“I’m happy. It was another tough day with strong winds, but I think I coped pretty well. It’s disappointing that I hit two bogeys there, but I fought really hard today.
“It wasn’t easy. It may have looked easy on TV, but there were a lot of crosswind and downwind shots, so I had to trust my numbers and the shape of my shots. I did pretty well today. It seems so.”
Frittelli made five birdies and two bogeys on his third day in the desert, moving him to 12 under par, two strokes behind compatriot Okkie Strydom, with Sweden’s Jesper Svensson one stroke behind.
Briton Sam Bairstow and Scotland’s Scott Jamison joined in a seven-way tie with four strokes and five shots behind the leader.