Fayetteville Observer Sports

By Eddie Southards
The Fayetteville Observer

Brad Fritsch came from nowhere to keep his spot on the PGA Tour with one great tournament last week in Florida.

The 2000 Campbell University graduate shot a 4-under 66 in the final round of the Web.com Tour Championship to tie for second place. That gave him enough money to finish 14th on the Top 50 list of players who earned a card for next season.

"I'm real excited and relieved," said Fritsch, who was a 35-year-old rookie on the PGA Tour this year. "I would have had conditional status but I wouldn't have gotten into many tournaments. It would not have been an enviable position."

Fritsch had a decent season on the PGA Tour but he finished just outside the top 125 needed to retain his playing privileges.

He entered the Web.com Tour playoffs, a series of four tournaments, but he missed the cut in the first three events. Then he hit a home run last week.

"I changed putters before the week started and I rolled the ball better than I had all year," Fritsch said. "My speed on the long putts was much better. Even my caddie was impressed and he is not an easy guy to impress."

Fritsch is at home in Holly Springs this week, resting and doing his laundry because the new PGA Tour schedule starts its 2014 season next week in California. There are seven tournaments before a holiday break and they afford a chance for players such as Frisch to get off to a good start. Most of the big-name players will not play a Tour event until January.

"If I play well in a couple of events, I could make a dent in the points list for next year," Fritsch said. "The new schedule is good for guys like me."