Coetzee’s career-low helps take Simola lead

Knysna - He missed out on getting a ‘real’ job in May, and Charl Coetzee was pleased he did after he fired a career-low eight-under-par 64 on Thursday to lead the first round of the R700 000 Vodacom Origins of Golf event at Simola Golf and Country Estate.

He made nine birdies and dropped just one shot to have a one-stroke edge over England’s Toby Tree, who celebrated his return to South Africa with an impressive seven-under 65. Vaughn Groenewald, who won just last month at Arabella, carded a six-under 66 to be very much in the mix himself.

“I think maybe ‘missing the cut’ when I didn’t get that job after making the shortlist made me realise how lucky I am to play golf for a living,” said Coetzee, “and that freed me up to play the kind of golf I know I can play.”

And that freedom was nowhere more evident than in his opening nine - his round started on the 10th - as he made six birdies, including five in a row from the 12th to the 16th.

“I just hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, I hit a couple of shots nice and close,” he said. “I played the par-fives well and hit a couple of good putts.”

When a player has gone through the lows Coetzee has faced, he will often be almost too scared to believe it when he starts playing that well. Not so for him. “I had got to a point with my golf where I accepted that what was happening was just going to have to happen. I’ve been to some deep, dark places, but I still love playing. So I was actually okay all day.”

To be okay, he had to change the way he was trying to drag himself out of the slump which saw him have his best year as a professional in 2013 when he finished 13th on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit, and his worst in 2016 which sees him in 135th spot with nine missed cuts.

“It’s just about finding my own rhythm, not thinking about the swing too much,” he said. “It’s just about swinging the club the way I know instead of thinking how to swing it. I had got to a space where I tried to play ‘machine golf’, and in working so hard on the swing, the short game went down and it was just a downward spiral from there.

“So just trusting what I’m doing, or what I’m wanting to do is pretty much all that’s going on now,” he added.

For Tree, who had a top-10 in the Dimension Data Pro-Am, and was bemoaning his fate in Europe on Twitter barely a month ago, South Africa seems to provide some sort of inspiration. “I just love being here,” he said. “The outdoor lifestyle, everyone’s friendly, the golf courses are good, the wine’s good… I love it here!”

Almost as much as Coetzee loves being at Simola: “I love it! It’s absolutely amazing - the views down here, the course is in great nick... And I’ve had a couple of good finishes, so I’m looking forward to what’s ahead.”

Scores:

64 - Charl Coetzee

65 - Toby Tree

66 - Vaughn Groenewald

68 - Allister de Kock, Neil Schietekat, Justin Harding

69 - Mark Murless, Ryan Cairns, Heinrich Bruiners, Oliver Bekker

70 - Bryandrew Roelofsz, Callum Mowat, Andrew Georgiou, Peter Karmis, Titch Moore, Jaco Prinsloo, Theunis Spangenberg, Francois Coetzee

71 - Anthony Michael, James Kingston, Zander Lombard, Tyrone Ferreira, Madalitso Muthiya, Colin Nel, Christiaan Basson, Derick Petersen, Jacques P de Villiers

72 - Steven Ferreira, Danie van Tonder, Michael Hollick, N.J. Arnoldi, Keenan Davidse, Stephen Ferreira, Mikhail Tewary, Makhetha Mazibuko, Hennie du Plessis, PH McIntyre, Werner van Niekerk, Doug McGuigan

73 - Jason Diab, Nic Henning, Drikus van der Walt, Martin Rominger, Ruan Pretorius, Ryan Tipping, Alex Haindl, Lyle Rowe, JC Ritchie, Jake Redman, James Kamte, Teboho Sefatsa

74 - Tyrone Ryan, Toto Thimba, Gert Myburgh, Ockie Strydom, Jared Harvey, Ruan de Smidt, JJ Senekal, Wallie Coetsee, Chris Swanepoel, Jason Viljoen, Le Roux Ferreira, CJ du Plessis, Russel Franz

75 - Gideon Pienaar, Dayne Moore, Trevor Mahoney, Greg Bentley, Matthew Carvell, Jake Roos, Jean-Paul Strydom, Arthur Horne, Andrew Odoh, Stefan Engell Andersen, Lindani Ndwandwe, Ruan Huysamen, Antonio Rosado, Roux Jeffery

76 - Pieter Kruger, Alan Michell, MJ Viljoen, Garth Mulroy, Tyrone Mordt, Dwayne Basson, Drikus Bruyns, Jacquin Hess, Teaghan Gauche

77 - Jason Froneman, Rourke van der Spuy, Daniel Hammond, Calvin Pearson, Jacques Blaauw, Breyten Meyer, Mark Fensham

78 - Mark Williams, Andrew Curlewis

79 - Warren Abery

80 - Nemanja Savic, Bryce Bibby

81 - Jeff Hopkins, Stuart Smith

82 - Thanda Mavundla

83 - Shane Granger

RTD - Jonathan Agren