Dylan Frittelli and Erik van Rooyen have stepped in to fill the void left by Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel at the World Cup of Golf.
Frittelli, now a PGA Tour member after earning his card via the Web.com finals, broke the news on social media and confirmed that he has asked Van Rooyen to partner up in Melbourne.
The pair will leave for the event after they finish up their involvement in the DP World Tour Championship, where Van Rooyen is making his debut after a stellar rookie season.
Frittelli is currently ranked as the fourth-highest South African with Van Rooyen eighth.
The reasons for the late withdrawal of previously fifth-ranked combination of Grace-Schwartzel is unknown at this stage but late-season fatigue could provide the clue.
Since the start of October, Grace has played the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the CIMB Classic, the CJ Cup, the Nedbank Golf Challenge and this week’s Dubai finale. Schwartzel’s world ranking has plummeted to 80th after starting the year in 33rd place; he is now one spot behind Frittelli.
In the 2016 edition, Jaco van Zyl and George Coetzee finished T13 some 11 shots behind Denmark’s runaway winners Thorbjorn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen.
