DP World Tour : Bahrain Championship Leaderboard Tee Times
Dylan Frittelli matched the lowest round of the day with a 69 to take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Bahrain Championship presented by Bapco Energies.
The South African entered the weekend with a share of the lead and while it was not quite as windy as it had been on day two, there were still testing conditions for the field at Royal Golf Club.
That showed in the early stages as the lead moved backwards but Frittelli made a hat-trick of birdies around the turn and forged ahead, moving to 12 under and clear of countryman Ockie Strydom.
Strydom also carded a 69 to sit at ten under, one clear of Swede Jesper Svensson who signed for a 72, with seven players then five shots off the lead.
Frittelli was a European Challenge Tour graduate in 2016 and made an instant impact in his first year on the DP World Tour, winning the LYONESS OPEN powered by ORGANIC+ and then the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open - which was part of the 2018 season.
The University of Texas alumnus - who holed the winning putt as the Longhorns won the national championship in 2012 - claimed a PGA Tour card to return to the United States in 2018 and impressed again, winning the 2019 John Deere Classic.
He endured a difficult 2023, however, and has taken up a route back onto the DP World Tour for those who finished outside the top 125 on the FedEx Cup Fall Points List, securing two top 20s in six events so far.
"I'm happy, it was another tough day in the wind and I seemed to handle it pretty well," he said. "It's a pity about the two bogeys I made out there but I fought really hard today.
"I was struggling the first seven or eight holes to make a putt but then finally got one to go on eight, then nine was an easy birdie and ten was a pretty easy putt as well.
"It was not easy, it probably looked easy on TV but there was a lot of shots crosswind and downwind and I had to trust my numbers and my shot shape and I seemed to execute pretty well today.
Swiss Girrbach, Dane Nørgaard, England's Sam Bairstow, Spaniard Sebastian Garcia, Scotland's Scott Jamieson, Frenchman Frederic Lacroix and South African Zander Lombard were at -7
edit***** Canada's Aaron Cockerill like the rest of the field battled the wind and was very steady with 12 pars, 2 birdies and 4 bogeys +2 74 heading into the final round T26 -3.
Looking at his card he began with 2 bogey's. He missed the green with a wedge into a fairway bunker and didn't get up and down at the par 4 1st, then made a 3 putt on the par 3 2nd.
All pars until he missed a 3 footer for par at the par 3 7th, however he bounced back with a big drive at the 8th then stuck his 130yd approach to 5 feet for a birdie at the 8th..out in +2 38.
Back 9 : Started brightly at the short par 4 10th where he holed out 18 feet from the fringe for birdie 3. He made a bogey at the par 3 12th when his tee shot went over the green, taking 3 to get down from there. He steadied the ship with 6 straight pars, in at E 36 for his +2 74 which was about the score for par on this windswept Royal GC
More wind for the Sunday finale.
9.19am 1st Aaron Cockerill, Jamie Donaldson, Connor Syme
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
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