The fifth and final South African in The Masters field, Dylan Frittelli, has already started work ahead of his first start at Augusta, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
On Monday, the confirmation that he has been waiting for since first climbing inside the world’s top 50 at the end of January finally came as he held on to his spot despite a first-round exit at the Dell Match Play in his hometown of Austin, Texas.
Frittelli has been around Augusta National before, albeit as a fan, and many wouldn’t have predicted he would go from 138th in the world to 47th in a year. That rise was proof that slow and steady wins the race for the player who played all of last week under the tag of ‘Jordan Spieth’s college teammate’.
Spieth’s teammate, who happened to sink the winning putt in the 2012 NCAA Championship, blossomed over the year as he broke through in Austria at the Lyoness Open before adding a second European Tour win with a playoff victory at the Mauritius Open.
Those wins, coupled with some strong showings in Race to Dubai’s series, saw Frittelli win the race to join Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen as well as past winners Charl Schwartzel and Trevor Immelman in the field of 86.
He made his Open debut before making his first Major weekend at the PGA Championship and now faces a trip to The Masters even if he hasn’t yet shared his invite on social media.
‘They are keeping it in Augusta, you know, just in case it gets lost,’ Frittelli told Compleat Golfer en route to a practice round for this week’s Houston Open.
In typical fashion, the 27-year-old is placing his first invite in the ‘dream realised’ category, not the ‘career achievement’ zone yet.
‘For me, winning the event would be an achievement. I can’t really describe now how cool it is to make it into the tournament for the first time. I’ve walked the course on a Monday practice round before but this will be completely different, you know, seeing it from inside the ropes.’
The Masters is a golf event that transcends all others and it provides players with the chance of getting family and friends involved in the occasion to help tick off bucket list items.
‘I’ll definitely be getting the family involved and some friends and that’ll be a bonus to see some dreams fulfilled.’
His debut won’t be all about family and friends though, with planning for his on-course well under way.
‘I’ve chatted to my coach, Chuck Cook, and Tom Kite already. They’ve been great in helping set out the course and going through all the different pin placements, even how to play each hole, so I feel like I’ve made some great progress with my preparation. You know, so now it’s up to me to put some good work in during the practice rounds.’
The good work follows a solid week in Austin where he took Masters champion Sergio Garcia down the 18, likewise PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Xander Schauffele. At the third time of asking, he managed to seal a win over fellow Masters debutant Shubhankar Sharma.
‘I played really well actually. I made a bunch of birdies and would probably have been in the top 20 but matchplay is a different beast.’
Before next week’s first Major, Frittelli will make another start on US soil as he puts some rounds under his belt at the Houston Open. A strong showing this week could be just the tonic needed as he makes his way down Magnolia Lane and into golf’s most elite field.
Expectations are low as he stresses the need to soak up the experience among the azaleas and world’s best.
‘I’ll certainly be trying to play with my head up as it were, you know, to take it all and gather some good intel for the years that follow.’
