George Coetzee returns home after a productive two weeks on the European Tour as Simola Golf and Country Estate hosts the final event of this season’s Vodacom Origins of Golf series.
The local tour returns for its R1-million event for the first time since Jaco Prinsloo defeated Ockie Strydom by a single stroke to claim his maiden Sunshine Tour title in 2017.
England’s Steve Surry is the defending champion after he won this title albeit down the road at Pinnacle Point. Surry defeated Derick Petersen by four shots last year but will not be among the 132 professionals lining up for the 54-hole strokeplay event.
Coetzee, though, will be in attendance after a 14th-place finish at last week’s Portugal Masters to back up his top five in France a week before. A two-time Sunshine Tour Order of Merit winner and a multiple winner on the European circuit, he is no stranger to tough competition such as the kind he will be facing this week.
It will be his first start on Tour this season and he will want to make an immediate impact aiming for nothing less than a win to make it 10 Sunshine Tour titles to his name. Also of interest is the fact that in his last eight rounds, only two were not under par and is evidence of the kind of form he carries into the week.
James du Preez is an imposing figure this week and this is not due to his staggering height of 6-9. In the eight events he has played since returning from a long spell on the sidelines thanks to a wrist injury, he has been solid.
A top-10 finish at the King’s Cup while playing with some caution so as to not aggravate his injury went a long way in boosting his confidence. And then, results of 25th and 28th at Humewood and Stellenbosch, respectively, followed.
He missed the cut at Wild Coast but wasn’t too bothered because, he admitted, his only objective was to regain full fitness and that competitive edge before he concentrates on challenging for victories. The following week at Selborne in the penultimate event of this season’s series of the Vodacom Origins of Golf, Du Preez turned it up.
A final-round 66, which consisted of six birdies in seven holes and which followed opening rounds of 69 and 70 guaranteed him a share of third alongside Jacques Blaauw on a total of 11 under par, losing out by two shots to Jaco Ahlers.
Last week at Mount Edgecombe and in another tournament, Du Preez was in the mix again. There, he signed for a tournament total of 12 under par but that was not enough to hand him his maiden victory, and instead, he fell second to Hennie Otto whose eight-under-62 final round was just a magnificent thing to watch.
Back-to-back runner-up finishes might not sound awfully inspiring but for a man who hadn’t touched a golf club for 18 months, and against the strong field of players competing week in and week out for glory, Du Preez has shown he can compete at a high level. On current form alone, he is definitely one to watch at Simola.
Simola has been sculpted into the hills above the picturesque Garden Route town of Knysna and occupies 325ha of breathtaking landscape that overlook the enchanted forests, town, lagoon and Indian Ocean.
The course’s location has proved ideal in that the ridges and peaks of the area have provided exceptional protection from the dominant coastal winds that may throw one’s game off on other courses. Well bunkered, watered and filled with wildlife roaming in from the surrounding forests, the Simola Golf Estate is an eighteen-hole championship course signed off by the Golden Bear – Jack Nicklaus – himself and is, in fact, the first Jack Nicklaus Signature course along the Garden Route.
The fairways are lush, textured affairs that undulate through the run of the course whilst greens are an absolute pleasure to play on. An eclectic mix of par-threes and par-fives has discerned this course from others and provides a fresh and welcome challenge to all levels of golfing ability.
The layout at Simola has some serious altitude changes and the holes are very stretched out, and due to its location, there are some holes with massive elevation changes so the golfer’s skills will be tested thoroughly.
Photo: Luke Walker/Sunshine Tour/Gallo Images
