George Coetzee is back on the Sunshine Tour this week and playing in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Final at the Simola Golf and Country Estate.
But while he doesn’t recognise some of the new faces on the local tour, he still remembers his first professional victory, which came in this Vodacom Origins of Golf series.
Coetzee was a rookie professional on the Sunshine Tour in 2007 when he won his first title in the Vodacom Origins of Golf at Selborne.
‘I remember that first win very fondly. I remember on 16 I hit it within half a millimetre out of bounds. Then on 17 I hit it within a foot of out of bounds. And on 18 I up-and-downed out of the bunker to win by two. I’m excited for this week. It’s been a long year and it’s nice to come back home. And you can’t get a much better place than this. The golf course is amazing. It’s perfect,’ he said.
‘I looked at the entry list for this tournament, though, and didn’t recognise half the names because a new generation has come through. A couple of my regular guys like Justin Harding and Louis de Jager are on the European Tour now. But there are still a few familiar faces here.’
Coetzee has had four top 10s on the European Tour this season and is currently within the top 60 on the Race to Dubai. And he says his focus in Knysna this week will be to get the balance right between enjoying his golf and working on a few elements of his game.
‘It’s been a weird season. It’s been a good year and a bad year all in one. It’s difficult to say where I am because sometimes I feel like the best thing for me to do is to work on things, but the last few weeks I’ve felt the best thing for me to do is just to enjoy my golf. I guess you’ve got to find the balance of when to do what. They say better is the worst enemy of good, so it’s just a question of when you’re good just to enjoy it. I feel like I’m in a good space now and playing pretty well.’
Coetzee will be playing in all of the major summer tournaments on the Sunshine Tour leading up to the end of the year.
‘I’m looking forward to the summer season here on the Sunshine Tour. Hopefully my golf will be good. It’s an exciting time for me.’
The 54-hole Vodacom Origins of Golf Final tees off on Thursday.
