The debrief: Bahrain Championship presented by Bapco Energies

The DP World Tour’s return to the Kingdom of Bahrain for the first time in 13 years ended in a long-awaited return to the winner’s circle for South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli. Here is everything you need to know from the Bahrain Championship presented by Bapco Energies.

Perseverance pays off for Frittelli

With three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the back nine, Dylan Frittelli won his first DP World Tour title in six years with a two-shot success at Royal Golf Club on Sunday.

The South African started the final round with a two-shot lead but was overtaken at the turn as a host of players staked a claim for the trophy, before his fine burst of scoring saw him sign for a 71 to finish at 13 under, two shots clear of countryman Zander Lombard and Swede Jesper Svensson.

A Challenge Tour graduate in 2016, Frittelli won in Austria and Mauritius on the DP World Tour in 2017 before moving to the PGA TOUR and taking the title at the 2019 John Deere Classic in his rookie season stateside.

After a difficult 2023, in which he missed the cut or withdrew from 23 of his 27 starts on the PGA TOUR, he said he was "invigorated" to be back on the DP World Tour after taking up a route for those who finished outside the top 125 on the FedExCup Fall Points List.

"It's been a long road the last five or six years since I left the DP World Tour and went to the States,” the 33-year-old said.

“It was a pretty tough year last year in America but it feels awesome to back on top right now. Last year I was in a couple of spots where I thought I was giving the game up to be honest and looking for something else.

"I found some resolve at the end of last year and got some good work from my physio and my coaches and trainers. I'm glad I persevered and all the support from family and friends has been well worth it."

Victory sees Frittelli earn $425,000, move to eighth on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex, up 51 places, and to sixth on the International Swing standings.

Another week in contention for Lombard

While he was unable to claim the breakthrough DP World Tour title he so craves, Zander Lombard consolidated his status as the top-ranked South African golfer on the Race to Dubai rankings.

A closing 68 in Bahrain helped him to a runner-up finish, his best result of the season which has so far seen him register two other top tens and finish no worse than a tie for 25th across his seven starts to lie fourth on the Race to Dubai.

As a result, the 2018 Qualifying School winner Lombard, who has not missed a cut since Omega European Masters last summer, will be confident in his chances of contending once again at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

Challenge Tour duo continue to impress

A week on from Frederic Lacroix recording his career-best DP World Tour finish, fellow European Challenge Tour graduate Jesper Svensson equalled his best result in his rookie campaign.

Having finished tied second at the Investec South African Open Championship at the tail end of last year, the Swede matched that performance in Bahrain.

Three birdies in a flawless front nine in the final round earned him a share of the lead alongside Ockie Strydom at the turn, but he was unable to react to Frittelli’s fine play midway through the back nine as he settled for the best paycheck of his career.

Two spots below Svensson on the leaderboard was Lacroix as he made it three top fives in succession thanks in part to a birdie-birdie finish which saw him finish alongside Strydom in a tie for fourth.

With one more event in the Middle East before a one-week break on the schedule, Svensson and Lacroix find themselves 11th and 14th respectively on the Race to Dubai.

Pair of aces

Marcus Armitage made the eighth hole-in-one of the season when he holed a wedge from 131 yards on the 12th in the first round on Thursday.

The Englishman later revealed It was his first ace in 20 years but we barely had to wait an hour for another as China's Chen Guxin needed just one blow from 196 yards with a three iron at the second on the same day.

Shot of the week

While the overwhelming majority of the field didn’t have past experience of playing at Royal Golf Club before, there was still an array of fine shot-making on a course notable for its undulating greens.

We’ve compiled a five-strong shortlist below for you to pick your favourite shot of the week.