George Coetzee matched his opening round 65 on Saturday to give himself a shot at a fourth European Tour title at the Italian Open, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
Coetzee was level par arriving on the fifth tee on moving day, but copied his second round score at the hole to drop back to -7 for the championship.
The 31-year-old then turned it on to storm back into contention at Golf Club Milano. A par at the sixth was followed with a birdie 2 at the 7th, and he got another shot on the field with a birdie at the following hole. Coetzee then rocketed into the day’s spotlight with an eagle 3 at the ninth to turn in 33 – the same tally as Thursday’s opening round.
A birdie on the 12th and his second eagle of the day on 14 had him move to right near the top of the first page of the leaderboard.
The South African, who won three times on the European Tour in the 18 months starting February 2014, is getting back to his best form with two top-10 finishes last month – including his T7 finish in Portugal, which was marred by a triple on the 72nd hole when a par would’ve seen him finish in second alone – as he gets to grips with a new swing and a new fitness regime.
A second bogey of the day came at the 17th, but he closed well with a birdie at the last to get to -14 for the tournament, and in the process stayed within touching distance of Matt Wallace.
The Englishman takes a two-shot lead into the final round with a high-quality chasing pack breathing down his neck.
Wallace, who led at the halfway mark, carded five birdies and a single bogey on Saturday before pulling off a tremendous par save at the 18th to move to 17-under-par after 54 holes.
Defending champion Francesco Molinari and last week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner Tyrrell Hatton – celebrating his 26th birthday – were two shots further back in a tie for second.
Coetzee’s countrymen did not fare as well. Darren Fichardt dropped 17 places after a 70 to sit alongside Richard Sterne (68) in T28. Dean Burmester is T55 after a level par 71 kept him at -4 for the tournament.
Additional reporting: European Tour
Photo: Christopher Lee/Getty Images
