JOHANNESBURG - Dylan Frittelli is not content with his place just outside the top 50 golfers in the world and is targeting a maiden Major victory in 2018, and the first step towards that goal will be lifting the SA Open title on Sunday at Glendower.
“I definitely have the experience and the form, I just have to put it all together and try coming up on top on Sunday,” said Frittelli.
“A win would take a lot of pressure off the first half of the year and set me up for the Masters and WGC-Match Play and have everything nailed down in the calendar so I can do the scheduling 100 percent.”
Ranked 53rd in the world, Frittelli is aiming to cement a place in the top 50 by the end of March, which would see him tee it up at the Masters at Augusta for the first time.
Ensuring participation on the biggest stage for many would be the ultimate, but to Frittelli it will just be the start.
“Besides getting into that top 50 and starting there... my other goal is to try and win a Major and even one of the World Golf Championship events,” said Frittelli ahead of Thursday's SA Open.
“Some people would say it’s a bit far-fetched, but I know if I could get in there and if I got into contention, I’d feel I have a chance.”
Frittelli’s rise in 2017 was nothing short of meteoric. At the end of 2016 he was ranked 152nd and therefore was close to improving his ranking by 100 places last year. He finished the 2017 European Tour season in 19th place on the Race to Dubai money list - an incredibly impressive feat in his rookie season on the tour.
Frittelli, 27, played the US college circuit alongside current world top 10 players Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka. The South African therefore sees no reason why he can’t go on to achieve some of the feats of his peers.
“Look at Jordan and Justin (Thomas) and even Brooks Koepka those are guys I’ve played with, my peers in college and in early level professional golf, so there’s no reason why if they can do it, why I can’t. I want to push hard for those big goals this year.”
Frittelli added extra events to his schedule last season in a bid to qualify for the Masters by moving inside the top 50 by the end of the year. It meant he played a stretch of seven weeks in a row, and now after the Christmas break he should be seen as one of the favourites for the SA Open.
He will tee off at 7am on Thursday morning, alongside compatriot and 2017 SA Open champion Brandon Stone and Andy Sullivan