George Coetzee
| George Coetzee | |
|---|---|
| — Golfer — | |
 Coetzee at the 2011 BMW International Open | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | George William Coetzee |
| Born |
18 July 1986 Pretoria, South Africa |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 95 kg (209 lb; 15.0 st) |
| Nationality |
 South Africa |
| Residence | Pretoria, South Africa |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 2007 |
| Current tour(s) |
Sunshine Tour Canadian Tour European Tour |
| Professional wins | 9 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| European Tour | 3 |
| Asian Tour | 1 |
| Sunshine Tour | 8 |
| Other | 1 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | CUT: 2013 |
| U.S. Open | T56: 2013 |
| The Open Championship | 15th: 2011 |
| PGA Championship | T7: 2015 |
George William Coetzee (born 18 July 1986) is a South African professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and Sunshine Tour.
Coetzee was born in Pretoria. He started playing golf when he was 10 and won the first junior tournament he ever played in, shooting 49 in 9 holes. He finished 4th and 8th in the Callaway Junior World Championship in San Diego, where he attended the University of San Diego for one semester. He turned professional in 2007.
Coetzee joined the Sunshine Tour in 2007, and claimed his first win during his rookie season, in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour event at Selborne. His second and third wins came a year later at the SAA Pro-Am Invitational, and the Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour event at Humewood.
He earned a European Tour card for the 2010 season through the qualifying school, but had to return to qualifying school at the end of the season after finishing 126th on the Order of Merit and recording only two top ten finishes. Coetzee regained his playing rights in 2011 and enjoyed a successful season, with a runner-up placing at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, where he lost out to Thomas Bjorn on the fifth extra hole of a five-man playoff. He also had three third-place finishes at other tournaments and eight top 10's overall. Coetzee finished the season ranked 26th on the Race to Dubai.
Coetzee had a successful 2012 season, finishing 21st on the Race to Dubai and reaching the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking.
In February 2014, Coetzee won his maiden European Tour title in his 107th start with a three stroke victory at the Joburg Open. He came from four strokes behind in the final round with a six under par 66 to claim victory.[1]
Coetzee won his second European Tour title at the Tshwane Open in March 2015, by a single stroke over Jacques Blaauw. Both of his wins on the European Tour have come in co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Tour in South Africa.
In May 2015, Coetzee won his second tournament of the year at the inaugural AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, defeating Thorbjørn Olesen in a sudden-death playoff, at the second extra hole with a birdie on the par-five 18th hole.
In February 2016, Coetzee won the Dimension Data Pro-Am finishing birdie-birdie-eagle to defeat Dean Burmester by a single stroke.
Education
He attended Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Afrikaans High School for Boys, also known as Affies), a popular and renowned public school located in Pretoria.
Professional wins (9)
European Tour wins (3)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 Feb 2014 | Joburg Open1 | 65-68-69-66=268 | −19 | 3 strokes |  Tyrrell Hatton,  Jin Jeong, Justin Walters |
| 2 | 15 Mar 2015 | Tshwane Open1 | 67-66-68-65=266 | −14 | 1 stroke | Jacques Blaauw |
| 3 | 10 May 2015 | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open2 | 70-67-65-69=271 | −13 | Playoff |  Thorbjørn Olesen |
1 Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour.
2 Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and the Asian Tour.
European Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2011 | Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles | Thomas Bjørn, Mark Foster, Pablo Larrazábal,  Bernd Wiesberger |
Bjorn won with birdie on fifth extra hole Foster eliminated with par on fourth hole Larrázabal eliminated with par on second hole Wiesberger eliminated with par on first hole |
| 2 | 2015 | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open | Thorbjørn Olesen |
Won with birdie on second extra hole |
Sunshine Tour wins (8)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 Jun 2007 | Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour at Selborne | 70-71-66=207 | −9 | 2 strokes | Ulrich van den Berg |
| 2 | 23 Aug 2008 | SAA Pro-Am Invitational | 72-66-69=207 | −9 | 3 strokes | Warren Abery, Doug McGuigan |
| 3 | 19 Sep 2008 | Vodacom Origins of Golf Tour at Humewood | 71-68-73=212 | −4 | 1 stroke | Jean Hugo |
| 4 | 27 Feb 2011 | Telkom PGA Championship | 65-64-68-64=261 | −27 | 2 strokes | Neil Schietekat |
| 5 | 9 Feb 2014 | Joburg Open1 | 65-68-69-66=268 | −19 | 3 strokes | Tyrrell Hatton, Jin Jeong, Justin Walters |
| 6 | 15 Mar 2015 | Tshwane Open1 | 67-66-68-65=266 | −14 | 1 stroke | Jacques Blaauw |
| 7 | 10 May 2015 | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open2 | 70-67-65-69=271 | −13 | Playoff | Thorbjørn Olesen |
| 8 | 21 Feb 2016 | Dimension Data Pro-Am | 68-70-64-66=268 | −21 | 1 stroke | Dean Burmester |
1 Co-sanctioned by the European Tour.
2 Co-sanctioned by the European Tour and the Asian Tour.
Other wins (1)
- 2011 Gary Player Invitational (with Mark James)
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | DNP | CUT | T56 | DNP | T70 | DNP |
| The Open Championship | 15 | CUT | T71 | 18 | CUT | CUT |
| PGA Championship | DNP | CUT | CUT | CUT | T7 | T60 |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 7 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 2 (2013 U.S. Open – 2013 Open Championship)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1
Results in World Golf Championships
Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.
| Tournament | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cadillac Championship | DNP | T53 | T16 | DNP | 57 |
| Dell Match Play | R64 | R64 | R16 | T17 | DNP |
| Bridgestone Invitational | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T21 |
| HSBC Champions | T56 | 74 | T12 | DNP | T40 |
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.
Team appearances
Professional
See also
- 2009 European Tour Qualifying School graduates
- 2010 European Tour Qualifying School graduates
- List of golfers with most Sunshine Tour wins
References
- ↑ McEwan, Michael (10 February 2014). "Coetzee wins maiden title at last". Bunkered. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
External links
- George Coetzee at the Sunshine Tour official site
- George Coetzee at the European Tour official site
- George Coetzee at the PGA Tour official site
- George Coetzee at the Official World Golf Ranking official site