Matthew Fitzpatrick insists he does not feel any extra pressure to get over the line at this week's Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player as he looks to extend one of the European Tour's most impressive winning streaks.
The Englishman has claimed at least one victory in each season since he came through the Qualifying School in 2014 but has just two weeks left of the 2019 Race to Dubai to extend that remarkable record.
He came second at the season opening Honma Hong Kong Open presented by Amundi and has since been runner up four more times, incuding a play-off loss to Andrea Pavan at the BMW International Open.
Those results have helped him enter this week fourth in the Race to Dubai Rankings Presented by Rolex and while victory has so far proven elusive, he will head to a layout where he has won before next week in Dubai with a chance to win 2019's biggest prize - the Race to Dubai.
"I wouldn't say I feel pressure to win," he said. "I would say pressure to contend. I'm fourth on the Race to Dubai and there's a chance to win the Race to Dubai still. It's probably the closest I've been so far in my career to winning it.
I would say pressure to contend. I'm fourth on the Race to Dubai and there's a chance to win the Race to Dubai
"You know, two good weeks and you never know what happens. Obviously without winning either of them, the results have got to go heavily my way but win one of them, it puts me right up there."
Fitzpatrick has also finished second on the US PGA Tour in 2019 as he becomes a truly international player and he believes schedule management has played a big role in his consistency.
"Looking at my schedule in years gone by, I was playing 30, 31, 32 events," he said. "This year I think I'm at 28 maybe. It doesn't sound like a lot but it is.
"It's an extra week to work on the game, it's an extra week of rest. Even just a week is a big thing.
"I think that's been a big difference this year just playing a little bit less and it's made the difference."
