Publications
Partners
First-round leader Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark carded a level-par 72 at Millvale Private Estate to reach halfway at seven-under-par in second, with Keith Horne and Merrick Bremner reaching six-under 138 with their rounds of 68 and 69 respectively.
A victory for Coetzee in this tournament will earn him enough World Ranking points to get him inside the top 50 in the world and assure him of a start at the Masters in April.
“That’s one of the most important things I’m playing for this week,” said Coetzee.
“There’s only one spot here that will work for me, so I’m trying to just stick to the things that I’ve been doing in the last couple of weeks.
“It’s starting to show on the golf course, and my scoring is starting to be pretty good. I feel very comfortable. So I try not to think about all the benefits of playing well,” said Coetzee.
Coetzee’s round on Friday included three birdies and an eagle, with no dropped shots putting him in a good position.
Coetzee is finding that the changes brought about by his new coach Doug Wood are starting to work.
“I’m very comfortable with the way things are going now,” said Coetzee.
“I’m starting to understand my swing a bit better so if I hit a bad shot I know what to focus on immediately on the shot after that.
“I guess that’s what everyone is aiming for – to learn quickly and not take the whole round to figure out what’s wrong.”
With Bjerregaard, Horne and Bremner within striking distance – as well as Justin Walters and Trevor Fisher Jnr on five-under through halfway – Coetzee knows it will not be easy over the final two rounds at the Lost City on the weekend.
“I don’t think you can go round and par your way home.
“We’ll see how it plays out, but I’m sure there will be lots of birdies in the last two days,” he said.
Scores (RSA
unless specified):
135 - George Coetzee 68 67
137 - Lucas
Bjerregaard 65 72
138 - Keith
Horne 70 68, Merrick Bremner 69 69
139 - Trevor
Fisher Jnr 69 70, Justin Walters 69 70
140 - Jean
Hugo 71 69, Jbe’ Kruger 68 72, Jacques Blaauw 67 73
143 - Darren
Fichardt 73 70, Jake Roos 75 68, Jaco van Zyl 71
72, Ulrich van den Berg 70 73
144 - Dawie
van der Walt 74 70, Thomas Aiken 74 70, Andrew
Curlewis 75 69
145 - Adilson
Da Silva 75 70
146 - Justin
Harding 74 72, Oliver Fisher 72 74, Danie van
Tonder 76 70
147 - Hennie
Otto 73 74, Richard Finch 76 71
148 - Ross
Fisher 77 71
149 - Morten
Orum Madsen 74 75
150 - John
Hahn 80 70
151 - Warren
Abery 78 73
153 - Oliver
Bekker 76 77
154 - Titch
Moore 80 74
155 - Michael
Hollick 76 79, Jaco Ahlers 78 77
