Dylan Frittelli is hoping a mixture of solid recent form and course experience will help him play himself into position at The Open, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
The two-time European Tour winner is playing his second Open Championship and is ready to reap the benefits of course knowledge gained from previous trips to the venue, something that he has not had the luxury of in the past.
‘I’ve done all my prep now, so actually just waiting to get going with the first round now,’ Frittelli told Compleat Golfer on Wednesday.
As one of 12 South Africans in the field, the 28-year-old also counts himself as one with course experience after featuring recently in the Dunhill Hill Links. With that experience and three solid weeks ― T12, T14 and T23 in consecutive Rolex Series events ― the Open arrives at a good time in his schedule.
‘Having played Carnoustie a few times, a lot of the work that I have to put into the other Majors in terms of getting course experience and tips is already done which is a key for me leading into this week.
‘Every other time I’ve got to a Major, you know, I’m playing catch up and a lot of the build-up is about getting as much information as possible but this time [it’s] different. It’s now a lighter workload on the course and that’s good because it helps me concentrate on my off-course preparations which I’ve learned is an important part of how I need to prepare myself for such a big week.
‘My body feels good and so does the swing, so I’m nice and confident about where I need to be heading into Thursday.’
A lot of the build-up into the week has centred around the ‘baked out’ conditions at Carnoustie with many pros suggesting the driver may not see a lot of action. The risk-reward element will be in play this week with longer hitters being tempted with carrying fairway bunkers off the tee, although Frittelli is not ready to alter what’s worked for him over the past 18 months.
‘The strategy, for me anyway, is pretty straightforward. I’m not the longest hitter, so it’s always about hitting it straight and finding fairways and greens in regulation. Obviously, the course is playing a bit shorter because it’s been dry and that will help the shorter hitters. Then again, that’s only if you finding the fairway with your first few bounces off the tee. ‘
‘I’m not going out there to try to overpower Carnoustie ― it’ll be a case of being particular about where I want to be hitting towards and landing my ball in the right kind of areas so I can try to make some putts. I’m excited for the week and the first two days is all about playing towards a place at the right side of the leaderboard ahead of the weekend.’
Frittelli starts his Open adventure at 3:26pm with Grant Forrest and Tom Lehman.
Thursday tee times:
All times SA
08:08 – Danthai Boonma (THA), Mark Calcavecchia (USA), Shaun Norris (RSA)
09:36 – Stewart Cink (USA), Brandon Stone (RSA), Hideto Tanihara (JPN)
10:03 – Adam Hadwin (CAN), Ernie Els (RSA), Chesson Hadley (USA)
10:14 – Pat Perez (USA), Julian Suri (USA), George Coetzee (RSA)
10:36 – Bernhard Langer (GER), Darren Clarke, Retief Goosen (RSA)
11:20 – Louis Oosthuizen (RSA), Paul Casey, Patrick Reed (USA)
11:53 – James Robinson, Haraldur Magnus (ISL), Zander Lombard (RSA)
12:58 – Charl Schwartzel (RSA), Daniel Berger (USA), Tom Lewis
13:42 – Russell Henley (USA), Matthew Fitzpatrick, (a) Jovan Rebula (RSA)
14:26 – Justin Thomas (USA), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Branden Grace (RSA)
15:26 – Dylan Frittelli (RSA), Tom Lehman (USA), Grant Forrest
Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
