George Coetzee leads in Mauritius

Edited by Anand Datla

Domaine de Bel Ombre, May 9, 2015: George Coetzee pitched in for an eagle from the fairway as a spectacular front nine display gave him a one shot lead heading into the final round of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. The 28 year old, already a winner at his home Pretoria GC in the Tshwane Open this season, raced to the turn in 30 as a six under par 65 gave him an 11 under total after three rounds.

That was one clear of compatriot Thomas Aiken and Denmark’s halfway leader Thorbjørn Olesen as an exciting finish beckoned at Heritage Golf Club. Coetzee started the day four behind Olesen, but had snatched the lead halfway through his round, holing a lengthy birdie putt at the second and getting up-and-down for another gain at the driveable fifth.

The 25 year old Olesen was having all sorts of problems off the tee, allowing Coetzee to take the lead when he pitched in for eagle at the seventh, and an up-and-down from the bunker at the reachable par four ninth saw him turn in a five under par 30.

A steady back nine saw a birdie from 25 feet on the 14th puncture a string of pars, but Coetzee was delighted to be leading despite not playing what the two-time European Tour winner feels is his best golf.

“As I walked off the course, I told my manager I don’t know how I’m shooting under par the way I’m playing, but obviously the course must suit my eye pretty well,” he said.

“Any way you get to a 65 is okay. I’m pretty happy, but I made it difficult for myself on the back nine,” said the South African golfer. “I hit a couple of loose tee shots on the back nine and that obviously puts pressure on the next tee shot and then the next one after that.”

“But coming down the stretch I started to hit it a bit better, so I’m not going to read too much into it. Perhaps it was a bit more difficult on the back nine because the wind picked up a little and a lot of the shots played directly into the wind. I got to the turn in good shape, and the nice thing about this course is you don’t have to force it coming down the stretch.”

“I thought ‘you know what, you can just play well and just pick up one or two birdies and the score should be pretty good without forcing it’. And fortunately, I made 65, so I’m pretty happy with the way things turned out in the end.”

Although not perfect, Coetzee’s issues with the driver paled into insignificance in comparison to Olesen; it spoke volumes for his short game that he produced a one under par 70 after a string of errant tee shots.

A winner in Perth at the end of last year, Olesen is making his return after three months out following hand surgery and after showing no signs of rust in the opening two rounds, lost control of his driver today.

He dropped a shot at the first after his approach came up short of the green, but did well to only bogey the fourth after driving into a ditch, found water off the tee at the ninth, and had to hit three tee shots on the 14th – none found the fairway – before eventually finding his first effort in the trees and salvaging an unlikely par.

The 25 year old’s putter played a significant role in keeping his score down, as he holed from 15 feet for birdie on the tenth and from 20 feet for another gain on the ninth, before he picked up a shot from five feet at the 16th after an excellent approach.

“My par saves were pretty amazing today,” admitted Olesen. “I’m happy that we are done now because it was not pretty out there.

“I was trying to find an escape and get the best score I could – I hit a lot of poor tee shots.

“The save on 14 was incredible and the save on 17 was also amazing. It was a tough round today and it took a lot of concentration and belief in myself.

“My tee shots were just really poor: not good enough. Hopefully I can find something overnight otherwise it is going to be a long round tomorrow.

“I couldn’t be happier that I’m only one shot off the lead with the way I played today. I’m still in contention and I have a good chance tomorrow. I have to find something from tee though to get my ball on the fairway.

“I’m very proud of myself because when you play like that it is not easy to be out there. You want to play your best but when it is just not there it is tough.”

Aiken picked up his third European Tour title at last year’s Africa Open the last time his wife Kate caddied for him, and the combination seems to be working again as he recovered from a dropped shot at the first with four birdies in five holes from the fifth – all coming from within ten feet to highlight his excellent iron play.

Two birdies and two bogeys followed on the back nine, leaving the 31 year old pleased with his day’s work.

“I went the conservative route today and still made a couple, so all in all I’m happy with the day and I’m nicely positioned going into tomorrow,” said Aiken.

“Hopefully the weather plays its part tomorrow and we get a fair test of golf.

“George is a good friend of mine so it will be nice to go out and do battle with him on the course tomorrow.

“He’s played great golf today, so it should be fun tomorrow. There are a few tough holes and depending on what the weather does, it should be a good day to watch.”

Singapore’s Mardan Mamat lies fourth on eight under, with first-round co-leader Carlos Pigem part of a four-man group a shot further back.