South Africa’s George Coetzee claimed a fifth European Tour title when he won the Portugal Masters by two shots at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course on Sunday.
Coetzee, who won the Titleist Championship in Pretoria a little more than a week ago, delivered a final-round spectacle by building on his overnight lead with a 5-under-par 66, which also saw him go bogey free for the day.
READ: Coetzee leads in Portugal
The 34-year-old firmly stuck to his guns and showed composure that has been lacking in his game for an extended period of time.
Two birdies on the front nine was backed up with a few excellent recoveries, while three more birdies as he came home saw Coetzee finish with a winning-score of 16 under par.
Extending his lead ?#PortugalMasters pic.twitter.com/VaVWwRMzzE
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) September 13, 2020
It wasn’t all plain sailing for Coetzee, however, who had to deal with a congested leaderboard at the top, while handling the pressure every time he hit a poor shot or came under threat of dropping a shot.
Englishman Laurie Canter added an extra bit of pressure on Coetzee when he managed to save a great par on the final hole – sinking a monster putt after looking almost certain to drop a shot.
It meant Canter signed off with a brilliant 66 to finish the event on 14 under par as Coetzee teed off on the 17th hole with a one-shot lead at the time.
His countryman Tommy Fleetwood also proved one of the danger men during the final round and had to wait in the clubhouse for a short while after a 7-under-par 64 that saw him conclude the week on 13 under par.
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What a shot!
Well if @gcoetzeegolf is nervous, he certainly isn’t showing it.#PortugalMasters pic.twitter.com/003kghZjAg
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) September 13, 2020
But, Coetzee showed his class and held his nerve brilliantly by rolling in an extremely-important birdie putt on the par-five 17th hole as he headed into the final hole with a two-shot lead.
He kept things tight and made a solid par on the 18th hole to seal back-to-back victory victories, while it was his first European Tour triumph in Europe.
The win also saw Coetzee make a surge up the Race to Dubai Standings from 72nd to 25th.
