Frittelli wins in Canada

Dylan Frittelli - 2008 Barrett Amateur ChampionDylan Frittelli, the current South African Boys Under 18 champion, recorded a final round of 67, four under par, yesterday to finish with a 36 hole total of 135, seven under par, one shot clear of the rest of the field to record a magnificent win in the Barrett Amateur Championship.

Scheduled as a 54 hole stroke play competition, played over the picturesque par 71 Algonquin Golf Course in the coastal town of St Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada, was however reduced to 36 holes due to a number of delays caused by fog and thunderstorms. The latter lead to the cancellation of the second round. This is Canada’s highest ranked amateur event on the R&A’s World Amateur Golf Rankings.

18 year old Frittelli, of Irene Country Club in Gauteng North, started the final round one shot off the pace. He recorded five birdies and one bogey in his final round of 67. He played steadily over the back nine, recording three birdies at holes 13, 15 and 17, coming home in 32. His round of 4 under par was the best of the day, along with three other players on the same 18 hole score.

However, Frittelli did not have things easy. Canadian David Markle birdied holes 15, 16 and 17 to draw level with Frittelli. A bogey on the final hole put paid to any chance of the Canadian forcing a playoff and the promising young South African was left holding the trophy and a well deserved victory.

Markle recorded his second successive 68, three under par, finishing with a 36 hole total of 136. He was three shots clear of a group of six players tied on third.

This is Frittelli’s second international win and his first in a senior competition. He won the Callaway World Junior Championship last year. The likeable Pretoria golfer now heads off to the University of Texas, on a golf scholarship, in the knowledge that this performance must have secured him a spot in the South African World Amateur Teams Championship team (Eisenhower Trophy), which will be announced on 17th August 2008, at Plettenberg Bay, on conclusion of the Southern Cape Open.

As winner of this championship, Frittelli qualifies for the 2008 Canadian Amateur this weekend, however he has turned this down citing ‘prior commitments’.

Jacques Blaauw, the 22 year old SA Amateur Stroke Play and Glacier SA Amateur champion, played regulation golf in his final round. Three bogeys, two of which were on par 3s, and three birdies, on holes 4, 5 and 13, gave him a round of 71 and a 36 hole total of 141, one under par. He finished on his own in tenth place.

The only other South African in the field, 37 year old Milnerton Golf Club member, Cameron Johnston, recorded a final round of 72, which included two bogey’s and a solitary birdie, one over par. He finished on 146, four over par, in 25th place, tied with five other players.

Overnight leader, John Peterson, of Fort Worth, Texas, struggled through his final round, a 72, one over par, to finish well off the pace on 139, three under par.

Final Scores:

Course: Algonquin Golf Course
Par: 71

135 – Dylan Frittelli (SA) (68,67)
136 – David Markle (CAN) (68,68)
139 – Dave Bunker (CAN) (72,67), Kelly Kraft (CAN) (72,67), Chris Walton (CAN) (72,67), Jace Walker (CAN) (71,68), Anthony Warren (CAN) (69,70), John Peterson (US) (67,72)
140 – Sean Hurley (CAN) (71,69)
141 – Jacques Blaauw (SA) (70,71)
Other South African players:
146 – Cameron Johnston (SA) (74,72).

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