He fought as hard as he could in a season that had many highs and lows. Ultimately the quest for a PGA TOUR card through the Web.com Tour Money List ended on Friday for Manotick, Ontario’s Brad Fritsch.
After a opening 73 at the Web.com Tour Championship at the TPC Sawgrass Valley Course in Ponte Vedra, Florida, the former PGA TOUR member came out strong on Friday in round 2. In order to earn a top 25 on the Tour’s Money List and earn his way back to the big tour he had to finish in the top 20 (approximately) this week, but first he had to make the cut.
He made his play for that with birdies on three of the first five holes in round two, pushing him within the cut line until the 11th hole when a soggy double bogey put his back against the wall.
As he has done many times in his pro career Fritsch bounced back with a birdie to keep his hopes alive. Unfortunately a bogey on the 14th cornered him into having to play the final four holes in two under par – a tough task on the very difficult design
With clutch birdies on holes 16 and 17 he was once again on the cut-line.
The last hole, though, did not bring a good outcome. A final bogey left Fritsch with a 68, one short of weekend play, and with it, any hope of earning a spot on the PGA TOUR through this year’s Web.com Tour Money List.
On his social media channels Fritsch posted “Man…I usually buckle up and stripe it when I’m on the last hole and on the cut line. But that was quick and terrible. So disappointed.”
One cannot fault Fritsch for his effort this season. The 37 year-old just completed 16 weeks of play over a 17 week period, a stretch that included qualifying for and playing in the United States Open Championship and a side trip to the RBC Canadian Open. Those both happened in weeks he was scheduled to be off and spend some time recovering and spending time with his young family.
Classy to the end, although disappointed, few would handle this challenge as well as Fritsch did through the last 4+ months. It was a schedule that few would even consider to pursue their craft but proved how much desire he has to earn his way back to the PGA TOUR.
Fritsch will be fully exempt for the Web.com Tour for 2016.
Fellow Canadian Roger Sloan also missed the cut at the Tour Championship.
