Coetzee Comes from Four Strokes Back to Win Joburg Open


George Coetzee closed with a 6-under 66 to sweep past the field and win the Joburg Open. The event was held at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club in Coetzee's home country of South Africa.

Coetzee played flawless throughout the final round, recording four birdies on the front nine and two more on the back to get his first European Tour victory in 107 career starts.

"I don't know what I'm feeling," said the 27-year-old Pretoria native. "I'm lost for words. I've been waiting a while and I started doubting, so I'm very happy."

Coetzee finished at 19-under 268, three shots ahead of England's Tyrrell Hatton (66), South Korea's Jin Jeong (71) and Justin Walters (73). Walters, who began Sunday sharing the 54-hole lead with fellow South African Thomas Aiken, needed an eagle on the 18th hole to force a playoff with Coetzee but instead bogeyed to slip into a tie for second.

Aiken struggled to a 74 and ended up sharing fifth at 15-under 272 with Englishmen Andy Sullivan (65) and Matthew Baldwin (67) and Spaniard Alvaro Quiros (66).

Coetzee came into the Joburg Open ranked 74th in the world, but his victory will certainly move him up in the newest rankings, which come out Monday. More important than that is just the thrill of finally coming out on top in a golf tournament near his hometown.

"I got to share this with my family and my friends," said Coetzee, who became the sixth South African to win the title in the past eight tournaments. "It was my mum's birthday yesterday and I wanted to do it for her as I forgot to buy her a present."

In addition to a big paycheck, Coetzee earned one of three spots in the 2014 British Open for players who have not already qualified; the three places are reserved for the top-10 finishers in the Joburg Open. The others qualifying for Royal Liverpool in July are Walters and Jeong.

For all the scores, visit For all the scores, visit http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2014/tournamentid=2014009/leaderboard/index.html.