He lives in the area and took in the scenes as a fan last year but that wasn’t enough to help Dylan Frittelli in his first ever WGC-Dell Match Play outing, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
The University of Texas alumni went down by one hole to PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Xander Schauffele.
It wasn’t one-sided by any stretch as the pair traded punches on the front nine after Frittelli’s opening hole bogey gave his US counterpart the lead. He drew level with a birdie on the next but was one down again when Schauffele birdied the third.
Frittelli, a two-time European Tour winner, made a two-putt par at the fifth to draw level and moved ahead in the contest for the first time with a four at the par-five 6th. The match was all square when the American was handed a gimmie after a stunning tee shot at the par-three 7th and retook the lead after converting from six feet on the ninth.
Both players made errors on the par-five 12th by finding the hazard but it was Schauffele who saved par to move two clear. That lead evapourated after two poor tee shots resulted in a pair of bogeys as the match effectively started again with three to play.
Schauffele drew first blood with a birdie at the 16th and crucially held his birdie putt on the short par-three 17th from double Frittelli’s distance to arrive at the last one ahead.
The South African had one last chance but his ten-footer slid by as Schauffele claimed the opening round win with a two-putt par to end a thrilling matchplay battle.
Birdie count:
3 – Frittelli
5 – Schauffele
*In the second Group 7 match, Sergio Garcia defeated Shubhankar Sharma 1up
Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
