Round 4 - George Coetzee wins second Tshwane Open

March 04, 2018

An impressive five-birdie final nine paved the way for South African George Coetzee to become the first two-time winner of the Tshwane Open European Tour event on Sunday.

The 31-year-old carded a four-under 67 at Pretoria Country Club, his home course, after a final round twice suspended by thunder storms as the tournament drew to a close.

His four-round total of 266 -- 18 under par -- gave him a two-shot victory in an event he also won three years ago.

After a bouncing back from two early bogeys with a pair of birdies on the front nine, Coetzee birdied five holes on the inward trek and bogeyed only one.

The Tshwane Open has been dominated by South Africans with England's Ross Fisher the only foreign winner in six tournaments.

Sam Horsfield, a 21-year-old Englishman who turned professional only last year, finished with three consecutive birdies to card a 67 and snatch second place.

Finn Mikko Korhonen, who led Coetzee by one shot halfway through the last round, closed with a 68 to come third after finishing joint-second last year.

Success on the course he first played as a 10-year-old was worth $215,000/175,000 euros to Coetzee, who has also won the Joburg Open and Mauritius Open on the European circuit.

After closing with a birdie four after a superb third shot from a greenside bunker, Coetzee was hugged by his two young daughters and his wife.

"I want to thank the crowd who backed me all day -- I could not have won this competition again without them," he said.

"A lot has happened since I last won here, including a serious ankle injury while surfing. It is good to be the Tshwane Open champion again.

"I struggled on the front nine throughout this tournament and when I turned one behind Mikko, I feared it would not be my week.

"But it all came together on the back nine with some great putting. The hold-ups due to the weather did not help and my lead slipped from four shots to two with one hole to play.

"There was some dew on the ball and that effected my decision making, but it was wonderful to finish with a birdie in front of my supporters."

The par-four 15th proved a crucial hole in the battle between Coetzee and Korhonen with the South African holing a birdie putt while an underhit edge-of-green chip cost the Finn a bogey.

Far from the glare of the leadership battle, Spaniard Pablo Oriol and South African Toto Thimba produced the two lowest rounds of the week.

Oriol fired a nine-under 62 despite a bogey as he eagled one hole and birdied eight while Thimba had eight birdies in his 63.

Score details

Round 3 - George Coetzee increases lead in South Africa

March 03, 2018

South African George Coetzee, playing on his home course, increased his lead to two shots Saturday after three rounds of the European Tour Tshwane Open.

He fired a three-under-par 68 at Pretoria Country Club for a tournament total of 199, 14 under par over the 6,476-metre/7,081-yard layout, after being one stroke ahead overnight.

Coetzee, whose three European Tour victories include the 2015 Tshwane Open, is followed on the leaderboard by Sam Horsfield of England and Mikko Korhonen of Finland.

Horsfield carded a 64 -- the best round of the day -- while Korhonen shot a 69 in hot, clear conditions.

South Africans Thomas Aiken (67) and Eric van Rooyen (67), Scott Jamieson (67) of Scotland and Chilean Felipe Aguilar (71) are on 203, four strokes behind the leader.

Coetzee is hoping to become the first two-time winner of the Tshwane Open and the sixth South African victor in the seven-year-old competition.

His score would have been even lower but for a bogey six on the final hole of a course he first played as a 10 year old.

Coetzee, who has also won the Joburg Open and Mauritius Open on the European Tour, picked up five birdies and bogeyed two holes.

"I am looking forward to the final round, but I am not thinking anything beyond that at the moment," said the leader.

"It is great to have the local support here and, hopefully, I can give them something to cheer about on Sunday afternoon.

"I'm happy with how I played. The front nine was not that great, but I managed to play really nice golf from 10 onwards."

Horsfield, who turned professional last year and is ranked 754 in the world, closed the gap behind Coetzee from six shots overnight to two.

He birdied the first four holes, added a fifth on the front nine and secured two more at 11 and 12 to match the lowest score of the week.

Korhonen, a Tshwane Open runner-up last year, bogeyed two holes before a change of fortune from 12 delivered four birdies.

Danny Willett of England and Julian Suri of the United States, two high-profile competitors in the field, are well back.

Willett, the 2016 US Masters champion, shot a 71 and is 10 strokes behind Coetzee with 18 holes remaining.

Suri, ranked 70 in the world and the lone top-100 golfer at the Tshwane Open, returned a 72 for a 211 total.

Round 2 - George Coetzee takes 1-stroke lead in Pretoria

March 02, 2018

South African George Coetzee took advantage of playing on his home course in Pretoria to shoot a second-round 64 Friday and lead the European Tour Tshwane Open by one stroke.

Coetzee, 31, first played the Pretoria Country Club layout in an upscale suburb when he was 10 and won the Tshwane Open there three years ago.

Starting his round at the 10th, he staged a birdie blitz on his first nine, securing six within seven holes from the 12th, and added one more later.

Chilean Felipe Aguilar and Finn Mikko Korhonen, a Tshwane Open runner-up last year, share second place one stroke behind Coetzee.

Aguilar shot a 67 that included an eagle in hot, clear conditions while Korhonen matched Coetzee with a birdie-peppered 64.

Overnight leader Louis de Jager managed only a par 71 and shares fourth place with fellow South Africans JC Ritchie (67) and Justin Walters (68) and Portuguese Ricardo Gouveia (68).

"I am happy to have posted two pretty good rounds," three-time European Tour winner Coetzee said.

"I will try and just focus on playing decent golf and posting good scores during the final two rounds at the weekend.

"It was a nice stretch on the back nine -- my front nine -- where I got a lot of birdies in a row.

"On the front nine -- my back nine -- I felt like I played pretty well, I just did not get the ball in the hole. I guess that is the way golf works.

"My short game feels good and it keeps me in the mix."

Coetzee will hope to become the fifth South African winner of the six-year Tshwane Open with Ross Fisher of England to only foreigner to finish first.

Korhonen had an eagle and six birdies on a card spoilt only by a bogey five on the first hole of the 6,476-metre/7,081-yard course.

Two-time European Tour winner Aguilar sparkled on the first nine with an eagle and three birdies, but a less impressive second nine produced only one birdie and two bogeys.

American Julian Suri, ranked 70 in the world and the only top-100 golfer in the field, slumped to a 74 after sharing second place overnight and is eight shots off the pace.

His front nine included two birdies, two bogeys and two double bogeys and the second nine of an erratic round had three birdies and two bogeys.

Former US Masters champion Danny Willett of England, the only Major winner in the tournament, shot a 68 and is seven strokes adrift of Coetzee.

Round 1 - Louis de Jager leading Tshwane Open

March 01, 2018

Louis de Jager's strong finish gave him a one-shot lead after the first round of the Tshwane Open in South Africa on Thursday.

De Jager birdied three of his last four holes for a 7-under 64 to move just ahead of fellow South African Thomas Aiken, Julian Suri of the United States, and Felipe Aguilar of Chile.

De Jager hasn't won a European Tour event but his best result came at this event in 2013, when he tied for third.

Starting on No. 9, de Jager had two good runs at Pretoria Country Club. He finished his opening nine with three straight birdies before picking up another three as he came home.

Aiken, a three-time winner on the tour, reeled off five birdies in five holes after starting with a bogey. He had eight birdies in all in his 6-under 65.

Suri, who won for the first time on the European Tour last year, dropped just one shot on his way round.

Aguilar also had seven birdies and a single bogey.

Scores