George Coetzee eased his way into a one-stroke lead in the Mediclinic Invitational with a composed 65 at Centurion Country Club on Friday.
Coetzee heads the field on 20 under par, one stroke clear of Jake Redman who signed for a third round of 64 on Friday. Stefan Wears-Taylor, Louis Albertse and Ruan Korb are all currently tied for third on 17 under par.
Coetzee was naturally delighted with his round of seven under – his second of the past three rounds – but for a different reason than just what it means for his score.
“I’ve been trying to post a score of seven under every day like my team did last Sunday,” Coetzee said with a reference to his beloved Liverpool Football Club and their 7-0 victory over Manchester United.
His scoring is also testament to just how comfortable he feels on this golf course.
“It’s been a good couple of days and I’m happy with the way things have gone. I basically grew up here, practised here and was coached here for many years. I know the course very well.”
Coetzee has certainly made an art of returning home to local fairways on the Sunshine Tour and winning. Since 2014 there has only been one year – in 2017 – when he has not won at least once on the Sunshine Tour.
“I’m quite fresh mentally and am trying to just stay in the moment this week. That’s all part of the psychology of the game and it’s something I’m always working on. The golf feels solid but I’m not relying on anything specific. I’m just plodding along.”
As much as he’ll be a favourite in the final round, Coetzee is taking nothing for granted against a quality field behind him.
George Coetzee and Jake Redman head into the final round with a chance to win the #MediclinicInvitational
— Sunshine Tour (@Sunshine_Tour) March 10, 2023
??? this is what the pair had to say #GreatnessBeginsHere #SunshineTour pic.twitter.com/5sVVykmycN
SCORES:
196 - George Coetzee 65 66 65
197 - Jake Redman 64 69 64
199 - Stefan Wears-Taylor 66 70 63, Louis Albertse 66 67 66, Ruan Korb 67 63 69
201 - Yurav Premlall 68 66 67, Ryan Van Velzen 66 64 71, James Mack 66 64 71
202 - Dylan Naidoo 65 68 69
203 - Reinhardt Blaauw 69 66 68, Fredrik From 69 64 70, Pieter Moolman 66 64 73
204 - Richard Joubert 70 67 67, Sean Cronje 67 68 69, Keagan Thomas 65 69 70
205 - Martin Vorster 68 70 67, Allister de Kock 70 68 67, Robin Williams 66 68 71
206 - Haydn Porteous 70 69 67, Michael Hollick 70 69 67, Rupert Kaminski 68 70 68, Hennie O'Kennedy 71 67 68, Trevor Fisher Jnr 65 73 68, Christiaan Burke 67 70 69, Ulrich van den Berg 68 69 69, Pierre Pellegrin 69 68 69, Martin Rohwer 68 68 70, Rhys West 67 68 71, Kyle Barker 66 67 73
207 - Erhard Lambrechts 69 71 67, Musiwalo Nethunzwi 68 71 68, Kyle McClatchie 69 69 69, Sean Bradley 73 65 69, Jean-Paul Strydom 72 66 69, Anton Karlsson 70 68 69, Coert Groenewald 67 71 69, Bradley Bawden 69 69 69, Jared Harvey 66 71 70, Jake Roos 69 68 70, Albert Venter 67 68 72
208 - Matthew Spacey 73 67 68, Luke Brown 65 72 71, Keegan Mclachlan 69 68 71, Combrinck Smit 69 67 72
209 - James Kamte 69 71 69, Ruan Conradie 71 69 69, Keelan van Wyk 71 68 70, Aneurin Gounden 69 70 70, Dean O'Riley 70 68 71
210 - Dan Erickson 73 66 71
211 - Samuel Simpson 69 71 71, CJ du Plessis 67 71 73
212 - Merrick Bremner 66 73 73, Franklin Manchest 70 69 73, DK Kim 71 68 73, Clayton Mansfield 70 68 74
213 - Therion Nel 69 70 74, Jaco Van Zyl 69 70 74, Ockie Strydom 67 72 74, Wade Jacobs 69 69 75
214 - Lyle Rowe 71 67 76
215 - Jason Smith 74 66 75, Jacques Blaauw 66 74 75, Callum Mowat 70 69 76
216 - Michael Palmer 72 67 77
Missed the cut
141 - Toto Thimba Jnr 72 69, Jacquin Hess 68 73, Luke Jerling 70 71, Jovan Rebula 71 70, Harry Konig 72 69, Clinton Grobler 73 68, Irvin Mazibuko 71 70, Wynand Dingle 67 74, Gerard du Plooy 70 71, Christiaan Basson 68 73, Herman Loubser 76 65, Luca Filippi 69 72, Evance Vukeya 71 70, Keelan Africa 70 71, Heinrich Bruiners 71 70, Hennie Otto 71 70, Thanda Mavundla 71 70
142 - Andre De Decker 68 74, Andre Van Dyk 71 71, Steve Surry 71 71, Danie Van Niekerk 73 69, Madalitso Muthiya 73 69, Gerrit Foster 67 75, Leon Vorster 69 73, Adam Breen 74 68, Malcolm Mitchell 70 72, Peter Karmis 74 68, Matias Calderon 73 69, Jacques P de Villiers 69 73
143 - Chris Cannon 72 71, Siyanda Mwandla 70 73, Steven Le Roux 70 73, Vaughn van Deventer 74 69, Peetie van der Merwe 74 69, Chris Swanepoel 71 72
144 - Sentanio Minnie 71 73, Dayne Moore 72 72, Makhetha Mazibuko 73 71, Tumelo Molloyi 74 70, Shaahid Mahmed 73 71, Michael Kok 75 69, Paul Boshoff 72 72, Philip Eriksson 71 73, Doug McGuigan 73 71, Stephen Ferreira 75 69, Ricky Hendler 74 70, Slenda Sithebe 68 76
145 - Mark Maart 71 74, John Bele 72 73, Adriel Poonan 75 70, Wallie Coetsee 75 70, Thabang Simon 72 73, Maverick Faber 73 72, Hayden Griffiths 70 75, Gerhard Pepler 70 75, Jean Hugo 71 74, Ruan de Smidt 74 71, Nicholaus Frade 71 74
146 - Karabo Mokoena 72 74, Nikhil Rama 76 70, Riekus Nortje 72 74, Lindani Ndwandwe 70 76
147 - Alex Haindl 72 75, Dwayne Basson 78 69
148 - Joshua Seale 75 73, Anthony Michael 71 77, Tristin Galant 70 78, Henning du Plooy 73 75, Dion Fourie 71 77, Thabiso Ngcobo 73 75
149 - Clancy Waugh 74 75, Shalan Govender 72 77, Mohammad Rauf Mandhu 82 67, Lincon Denzy Cele 76 73, Mike Maile 74 75
150 - Mandla Dlamini Jnr 73 77
151 - Omar Sandys 73 78, Quintin Wilsnach 77 74
152 - SP Mthethwa 76 76, James Pennington 73 79
153 - Jastice Mashego 77 76
156 - Ricco Motsa 77 79, Alphius Kelapile 78 78
158 - Brandon-Jude Rennie 83 75
159 - Boeta Nasie 83 76
160 - Gerard Moodley 84 76
161 - Lwazi Gqira 84 77, Sipho Bujela 79 82
165 - Brandon Moodley 81 84, Sandy Makume 85 80
166 - Byron van der Merwe 83 83