Dylan Frittelli secured his first DP World Tour win for over six years by two shots at the inaugural Bahrain Championship.
The South African headed into the final round with a two-shot lead over compatriot Ockie Strydom at Royal Golf Club and he made steady progress early on as he targeted his first victory since the 2017 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.
Frittelli, who was in the event via the 126-200 category of the FedEx Cup rankings, made par on each of his first six holes before his first setback of the day came with a bogey at the par 3 seventh.
After finding the green with his tee shot, Frittelli faced a daunting 66-foot putt for birdie, but could only get it to within eight feet of the hole and eventually three-putted to drop his first shot of the day.
Still looking for his first birdie of the day, he came unstuck again at another par 3, the 12th. By that point, one of his main rivals for the title was Jesper Svensson, who only earned his DP World Tour card in November at the Challenge Tour Grand Final, The Swede birdied three holes on the front nine as he eyed a maiden DP World Tour win, but a bogey at the 11th temporarily stalled his progress.
Frittelli had driven well all week though, and he was about to find his best form of the day at successive par 5s with his first birdie coming at the 12th, before another on the next hole.
His rally was needed, too, as Sebastian Soderberg was also in the hunt, helped by a birdie on the 14th to move within one of the lead. Another birdie at the 16th thanks to a stunning 42-foot putt moved Frittelli two ahead with two to play and neither Svensson nor Zander Lombard immediately behind him could narrow the gap as two pars saw the 33-year-old home.
The win is a welcome return to form for Frittelli after a worrying run that included 22 missed cuts in 2023. He also hadn't claimed a professional victory since the 2019 John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour, and admitted afterwards that he had even considered walking away from the game in the midst of his barren run.
He said: "Last year in a couple of spots I thought about giving the game up to be honest and looking for something else."
He'll be delighted he stuck at it, with a return to the winner's circle in just his third appearance of the year. The win also earns him $425,000, while it also moved him up to sixth in the International Swing rankings with another $200,000 up for grabs for the winner at the end of the phase.
