Australian Harrison Endycott is relishing the opportunity to play around the world and is taking inspiration from Dylan Frittelli’s recent success ahead of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
The DP World Tour returns to Doha Golf Club this week just more than 100 days since the last staging of the same tournament, as the event enters its 27th year on the schedule.
Frittelli triumphed at last week’s Bahrain Championship and Endycott, who has similar playing rights to his South African counterpart, is hoping to follow in his footsteps to secure full privileges on the DP World Tour.
The 27-year-old Sydneysider won on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 to earn a PGA Tour card and will split his time between America and the DP World Tour in the 2024 season, which started with a tie for 16th in Manama last week.
“It’s been building,” Endycott said this week. “Had my coach over for the American Express, Torrey Pines, did some good work. Start of the year, you’re trying to neutralise out and build all the foundations. I feel like it’s in a good spot, it’s not far away and I’m looking forward to playing this week in Qatar.
“It’s great to be able to play over here on the DP World Tour. I haven’t had a load of chances to play over here on this tour, but every time I have, I’ve really enjoyed it. I’d like to play a bit of both on my schedule this year. The way golf is, the States does get to some players, especially me, a bit repetitive, and to mix it up with another schedule, this is a global game and to be able to play around the world, it’s all I dreamed of as a kid.
“Now I’m in that position where I get to play all around the world, see amazing places and play in all new cultures. I’m really excited for this year, I’m going to see all new places that I haven’t seen before and go back to some places that I have seen. That’s what’s really exciting about 2024.”
The Qatar Masters this week returns to its traditional slot in the early part of the year, with Spain’s Jorge Campillo one of many players with good memories of the Qatari capital. The Spaniard last year finished runner-up for a second time, in addition to his 2020 victory at Education City Golf Club.
He is joined in the field by a plethora of fellow former winners including Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson, Englishman Eddie Pepperell and France’s Antoine Rozner, as well as some new faces such as American James Nicholas, who this week makes his DP World Tour debut after coming through all three stages at the 2023 Qualifying School.
The Qatar Masters is the fifth event on the International Swing and final in the Middle East before it concludes with three tournaments in Africa.