Coetzee holding out Masters hope
George Coetzee could still qualify for Augusta if he comes out on top at the Trophee Hassan II on Sunday.
The South African rallied after a poor front nine of 39 in Saturday’s third round, making five birdies and one bogey on the back nine to eventually card a 71.
That left him just one shot off the lead heading into the final round, and very much in with a shot of a victory that would see him qualify for the year’s first major.
“I am quite happy. I’m quite surprised the guys haven’t gone lower,” said Coetzee.
“I’ve been battling away the last couple of days but happy to be in the mix. I made some silly errors, mental errors, but I feel like I am still in a good space so (I’m) happy with the comeback today and hopefully (it) puts me in good stead for tomorrow.
“I’ve got a bit of mental game plan going at the moment and when you make mistakes you focus on doing the mental stuff correct and it kind of takes care of itself.
“The big change came yesterday on the fifth. I hit it left and was going to hack it when my caddie said there’s three par fives on the back nine, let’s take our punishment, take a drop and work from there. That kept reminding me about the back nine so it always keeps you in a good frame of mind.”
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