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Frittelli embraces favourite tag at SA Open

Cape Town - Dylan Frittelli said he will embrace the favourite tag leading up to this week's South African Open at Randpark Golf Club.

The SA Open, which dates back to 1893, is heralded as the pinnacle tournament for South Africans and is the second oldest golf tournament in the world behind the Open Championship.

READ: Coetzee vows to keep SA Open emotions in check

Randpark's two golf courses, Firethorn and Bushwillow, will play host to 240 golfers, who will compete for a minimum of R17.5 million in prize money.

Frittelli, who finished T5 at this past weekend's AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, understands that this year will not be easy with the increased field.

"It kind of sucks that there are 240 guys playing in it, this time it's going to be tougher to win. No national Open is going to be easy to win and the South African Open is one of the toughest in the world," Frittelli told Sport24 in Mauritius.

Adding to the strength of the field this week are home heroes Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, who have all reached the pinnacle of the sport by winning Major titles.

Frittelli hopes to bank on last year's experience at the Joburg Open at the same Randpark course, which he hopes will help him lift him to his third European Tour win.

"I don't know, I played alright at the Joburg Open at those two venues at Randpark (in 2017). Hopefully I can get in there and have a good week. Hopefully I'll just play well," said the world's 74th-ranked golfer.

"I'm not sure what to expect, Joburg Open was a whirlwind for me. I hadn't played the one course, but played the other. At least this time I know the courses so I should be one of the favourites, hopefully. Just need to execute well and get it done."

Randpark Golf Club will host the South African Open for the third time in the event’s history and the first time since 2000.

England's Chris Paisley is the defending champion, winning the last SA Open at Glendower GC in January this year.

The SA Open gets under way from Thursday.

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