Fritsch Collects Career-Best T2 Finish at Web.com Tour’s Mylan Classic


Brad Fritsch

By Stewart Moore

Canonsburg, PA – Canadian Brad Fritsch, a member of the eGolf Tour in 2011, posted rounds of 66-64-72-68—270 to post a career-best T2 finish at the Web.com Tour’s Mylan Classic on Sunday, in turn moving from No. 43 to No. 26 on the tour’s 2012 money list.

With opening rounds of 66-64—130 (12-under), Fritsch held sole possession of the event’s 36-hole lead heading into Saturday’s third round of play. The former Campbell University golfer bogeyed two of his first three holes on day three, and finished with a bogey at the par-4 18th, to post a 1-over 72 that left him at 11-under and tied for second heading into the final round.

Trailing 54-hole leader Cliff Kresge by one shot entering Sunday’s round, Fritsch played steady golf throughout much of the day, posting a bogey-free 68 to finish at 14-under for the week. His flawless final round, however, left him four shots shy of runaway winner Robert Streb, who notched eight birdies en route to a final-round 64 for his first Web.com Tour title.

The T2 was Fritsch’s fourth top-10 of the year, and was his sixth made cut in a row – a streak during which he collected three top-25 finishes. The Holly Springs, NC resident moved from No. 43 to No. 26 on the tour’s money list with earnings of $134,318 on the year – one spot outside the magical 25th spot. The top 25 players on the tour’s season-ending money list will earn their 2013 PGA TOUR cards.

The Edmonton, Alberta picked up three top-5 finishes on the 2011 eGolf Tour on his way to a 24th-place finish on the season-ending money list. Fritsch finished runner-up at the Columbia Open and runner-up at the Bushnell Classic at Spring Creek, winding up two shots behind winner Chris Thompson at Columbia, and three shots behind winner Matt Ryan at Spring Creek. At PGA TOUR Q-School finals last December, he posted rounds of 72-67-69-78-71—426 to finish T38, in turn earning full status on the 2012 Web.com Tour.

Two-time eGolf Tour winners Justin Hicks and Kevin Kisner, along with former players Will MacKenzie and Dawie Van der Walt, finished T7 on the week, seven shots behind Streb at 11-under 273.

Hicks, who won the eGolf Tour’s Sapona Open in 2007 and Verdict Ridge Invitational in 2004, moved up 19 spots in Sunday’s final round with a bogey-free 65 – the second-lowest round carded on the day.

The T7 was Hicks’ seventh top-10 of the 2012 season, and kept him at No. 9 on the money list with $204,273 in earnings. The former Michigan star is poised for a return to the PGA TOUR next year, where he competed full-time in 2011.

Kisner, a member of the PGA TOUR this year and the event’s defending champion, was in the field at the Mylan Classic after failing to earn a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs. The former Georgia star entered the final round in a tie for fifth place at 10-under 203, two shots behind Kresge’s 54-hole lead. An early bogey at the par-3 third dropped Kisner to 9-under, but bounce-back birdies at Nos. 6 and 8 brought him back into the fold at 11-under.

On the closing nine, Kisner failed to make a move, posting a birdie at 15 and a bogey at 17 to round out an even-par 36 which left him with a 1-under 70 on the day. The T7 was his second consecutive top-15 on the Web.com Tour, dating back to a T14 finish at last week’s News-Sentinel Open. Kisner has made 10 of 20 cuts on the PGA TOUR this year, with a T10 at the RBC Canadian Open serving as his best finish. The Aiken, SC native is currently 158th on the TOUR’s money list with season-long earnings of $346,216.

Other eGolf Tour players to make the cut in Canonsburg include Edward Loar (T15), Nate Smith (T19), Casey Wittenberg (T19), Jin Park (T22), Derek Fathauer (T26), Wes Roach (T26), Aaron Goldberg (T26), Hudson Swafford (T26), Marc Turnesa (T37), Aron Price (T37), James Sacheck (T41), Chris Wilson (T41), Adam Long (T41), Philip Pettitt (T45), Roger Sloan (T47) and Andy Bare (T52). For complete results from the Mylan Classic on PGATOUR.com, please click here.

• At the Deutsche Bank Championship, the second event in the PGA TOUR’s annual Playoffs for the FedExCup, Keegan Bradley was the low eGolf Tour player, finishing T13 with rounds of 71-73-63-69—276. The 2011 PGA Championship winner thought he had missed the cut at 2-over through two rounds of play, but instead made it on the number and vaulted up the leaderboard with an 8-under 63 on Saturday. The finish moved Bradley from No. 13 to No. 12 in the FedExCup rankings. Past eGolf Tour winners William McGirt and Tom Gillis notched notched T26 finishes at TPC Boston, in turn moving up to Nos. 39 and 42 on the points list, respectively. Other eGolf Tour players to make the cut at the Deutsche Bank Championship include Chris Kirk (T35), Matt Every (T35), Roberto Castro (T51), Blake Adams (T60), Brendon de Jonge (T60), Josh Teater (T60), Scott Stallings (T66), Tommy Gainey (T66), Martin Flores (T69), Daniel Summerhays (T69), Ted Potter (T69) and Brian Harman (T74). For full-field results from the Deutsche Bank Championship on PGATOUR.com, please click here.