Most of the field teeing it up in Akron this week have been here and done it all before, but for one man from Paraguay the experience of playing in a World Golf Championship is a completely new experience, and one that he is revelling in so far.
Fabrizio Zanotti is currently in the midst of his best season on The European Tour, the culmination of which was an impressive maiden triumph at the BMW International Open, where he outlasted the likes of Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Gregory Havret and Henrik Stenson in extra holes at Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof outside Cologne.
That first piece of silverware has been a long time coming, and has elevated the man from Asuncion into a position to post the best Race to Dubai finish of his career so far, with the 31 year old Zanotti up at a heady 27th on the season-long list.
This week at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational is the latest step in his ever-improving career, and despite a couple of closing bogeys in his final few holes on Friday, the Paraguayan has continued to impress en route to a one over par total for 36 holes at Firestone Country Club.
Conditions in Ohio might not be what he is used to while plying his trade back in Europe, due to the length of the course and the speed of the greens, but he will need to get used to such conditions quickly ahead of his maiden Major appearance next week in the US PGA Championship at Valhalla Country Club.
“It is a great experience for me playing in my first World Golf Championship, and it is a great week to come here and play on a very tough golf course,” said Zanotti, who finished second in last season’s Final Qualifying Stage at European Tour Destination PGA Catalunya Resort. “I have been playing good so far, although I didn’t have a great finish today, but I have two more days to keep going and see what I can do.”
“This is a long golf course, and in Europe we maybe don’t play courses quite this long. The greens are also very fast, so it is a little different from what I’m used to, although there are also great courses back in Europe too.
“To play in my first Major Championship next week is just going to be great. Every professional wants to play in these tournaments and I’m looking forward to it very much.”
No surprises there then, as the chance to play for a fortnight alongside the greatest names in the game will no doubt prove to be a great fillip for Zanotti as he looks to build on his success so far this year.
Aside from his win back in June, the World Number 100 has posted a tie for third at the Madeira Islands Open – Portugal – BPI, as well as two further top ten finishes at both the Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity and the Alstom Open de France
The five foot seven inch Paraguayan credits his new found success to some alterations he made in his game at the start of the season, and hopes to keep it going for the rest of the year and beyond.
“I made some changes to my swing this year, which meant I started hitting it better, and it has meant that my confidence in my game grown and grown,” explained Zanotti. “I have also started holing more putts, and like I say, it is that confidence that has really helped.
“My first win might have taken a little while to come around, but it felt very good when it did. It also came in a good way as well, which was great. We all think we can win out here, but you have to do it for the first time, and that is more difficult, but hopefully the next one won’t be so hard.
“My goal is just to keep playing well and improve my Official World Golf Ranking and my position on The Race to Dubai, which will be helpful for next year and my career going forward.”
