Brad Fritsch, 41, regains guaranteed Web.com Tour starts via Q-School

It certainly wasn’t the start to the year Brad Fritsch wanted, but the way it ended wasn’t too bad at all.

Fritsch, a past champion on the Web.com Tour and former member of The 25, began 2018 suspended after violating the PGA TOUR’s substance abuse policy. But after a final-round 62 at Final Stage of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament, the 41-year-old will be exempt into the first 12 events of the 2019 Web.com Tour season.

“It was more than a weird year, it was like a write-off,” admits Fritsch, who played two events on the Web.com Tour in 2018 along with two on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada, and two in Europe.

The PGA TOUR suspended Fritsch on November 30, 2017, after he self-reported a violation upon discovering an ingredient in a weight-loss supplement he was taking was on the TOUR’s list of banned substances.

"I'm just so upset with myself that I didn't think to question what was in the supplements. But I never did. And in the program rules, it stipulates that a self-report is the same as a positive test,” Fritsch wrote on Facebook at the time of his admission.

A professional golf veteran, Fritsch knew he’d be playing from behind in 2018, without guaranteed starts on any professional tour. He says he was able to work hard with his longtime coach, Patrick Kelley, on a few things that had been bogging him down the last two years.

“We were able to break stuff down and go back to very early-on things that we worked on in the instructor-student relationship, like in 2008 and 2009. We just went back to the basics, because they got corrupted really, really badly,” explains Fritsch. “It changed over the course of two years from a pretty strong draw (off the tee) to a weak fade and (I was) losing distance with the driver.

“It was hard for me to play the last couple of years in competition.”

Fritsch laughs when asked about his support system and the year that was, since he says his wife has probably seen a bit too much of him this year (“She’s not used to that”) but his kids were happy to have their father home for a good chunk of 2018.

His parents and family have been supportive as well, even inspiring him to flip a home this summer as an extra source of income. His brother, Stephen, flips a few homes each year in Ottawa, Ontario, and Fritsch decided to take on a project himself this year, in North Carolina.

“I had to figure out a way to do something for income, because I was trying to Monday qualify, but those are a lottery ticket. I was trying to figure out new ways to make money on the side. It went OK and I enjoyed the process,” says Fritsch, who earned $555 between the Web.com Tour and Mackenzie Tour this year.

He mostly financed the home projects but admits he did do a little bit of the initial demolition on the project.

“It was kind of fun to rip apart a house,” he says. “I did a little bit, but not too much. I did enjoy hunting down bargains for floors and cabinets. It was an interesting process.”

His week at Final Stage could be classified as an interesting process as well.

Fritsch began the week with an even-par 72 and was well behind the all-important top-40 number after the first round. He says he missed the tee well right on four separate occasions and had to chip it back into play. He didn’t go to the driving range after Thursday’s round to ‘find something’ (although he doesn’t want to say he was “disgusted” with his play, that’s essentially how he felt), but adjusted his alignment on Friday and drove it much better.

His iron play and putting were strong the whole week, and getting himself in play off the tee was the big difference between the first and second rounds.

“It was a confidence snowball,” he says.

Fritsch’s final-round, 10-under 62 was his career-low competitive score to par. He had previously recorded rounds of 62, but on par-71 layouts.

“After the second day I didn’t move up a lot, but I moved up enough to where I think I had a chance to get into the top-40. The third day with the 8-under on the harder course, that propelled me into the top-40, so I knew I had to take advantage of the easy course on the last day,” says Fritsch. “I couldn’t really have told you I would have shot 10-under when the day started, but once I got 3, 4, 5-under for the day and I knew I had a ton of holes left, I figured I’d keep the pedal down and see what happens.”

Besides getting adjusted with his alignment off the tee, Fritsch also discovered something equally as important: a change in post-round dining options.

The night before Fritsch’s opening round, he dined at a local chain restaurant and he played poorly. After his round completed Thursday, he went to Chick-fil-A for lunch, before having a BBQ dinner (Famous Dave’s) with a friend.

After his big-time turnaround, he figured he’d better get BBQ again.

“I did it again after the third round because it just worked. It was the exact same breakfast, snack, and dinner every day. Why not? Some people think it’s weak-minded and superstitious, but hey, it got the job done,” says Fritsch.

At 41, Fritsch is as motivated as ever to finish inside The 25 and regain PGA TOUR membership.

Only three of the first 12 events are ones he’s not yet played, and he says knowing exactly what to expect at all those venues will definitely be an advantage. He knows he’s a veteran player who won’t overpower a course à la Cameron Champ, but Fritsch says he feels like some of his better golf is yet to be played.

He’s been on a good path these last few months, things have begun to click, and he believes finishing the year inside The 25 is an attainable goal.

“When I started playing pro, I looked at (older) guys and thought, ‘I’m not sure I could do it at that age; I’m not sure what they’re hanging on to.’ But now I’m hanging on,” says Fritsch. “I’m glad I’ve hung on this long.”