Dylan Frittelli was relishing being back on the DP World Tour as he saw further signs of an upturn following an encouraging start at the Bahrain Championship presented by Bapco Energies.
The South African is no stranger to life on golf’s global Tour having made more than 100 appearances since his debut as an amateur in 2007.
After winning twice on the DP World Tour in 2017, Frittelli claimed his PGA TOUR card a year later as he went on to win in his rookie campaign stateside.
But after enduring a difficult 2023 in which he missed the cut or withdrew from 23 of his 27 starts on the PGA TOUR, the 33-year-old has taken up a route back onto the DP World Tour for those who finished outside the top 125 on the FedExCup Fall Points List.
After two top 20s on home soil at the back end of last year, Frittelli has since made four starts in the Middle East on the 2024 Race to Dubai – the latest coinciding with the DP World Tour’s return to the Kingdom of Bahrain for the first time in 13 years.
“I am so happy I get to play a lot of golf and get my feet under me on the DP World Tour and [my game] seems to be warming up at the right time,” said Frittelli after an opening 67 at Royal Golf Club on Thursday.
“I haven’t been playing great the last year. I definitely left the DP World Tour with a lot more steam in me but I come back invigorated and excited to play again, seeing old friends and playing golf courses that I remember from years ago.”
Frittelli, who hadn’t turned professional when the DP World Tour last visited Bahrain over a decade ago, mixed six birdies with a solitary bogey to sit in a share of eighth after the first round.
He added: “I found it pretty plain sailing to be honest. I hit a lot of par fives in two and drove the tenth green so.
“Nothing crazy with the putter but just a nice consistent round, something I haven’t had in quite a long time to be honest.”
With winds predicted to pick up for the second round on Friday, Frittelli is happy to have got his week off to a good start around a course which demands accurate approach play to undulating greens.
“I played the practice rounds and the Pro-Am with like a one club wind at most and I thought this was going to be a birdie-fest,” he said.
“Then today when I stepped on the first hole I [realised] this was a lot tougher than I pictured in my mind. The rough is pretty long [and] you get some random lies in the desert.
“The pins today were pretty tough. They pulled out some tough ones as the wind wasn’t as high.
“I think tomorrow they will be a little safer with the pins. If we get more than 15mph winds then it is going to be a nightmare out there.”
