George Coetzee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids George Coetzee |
|
|---|---|
Coetzee at the 2011 BMW International Open
|
|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | George William Coetzee |
| Born | 18 July 1986 Pretoria, South Africa |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 95 kg (209 lb; 15.0 st) |
| Nationality |  South Africa |
| Residence | Pretoria, South Africa |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 2007 |
| Current tour(s) | Sunshine Tour |
| Former tour(s) | European Tour Canadian Tour |
| Professional wins | 17 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| European Tour | 5 |
| Asian Tour | 1 |
| Sunshine Tour | 15 |
| Other | 1 |
| Best results in Major Championships |
|
| The Masters Tournament | CUT: 2013 |
| U.S. Open | T56: 2013 |
| The Open Championship | 15th: 2011 |
| PGA Championship | T7: 2015 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| Sunshine Tour Order of Merit winner |
2015, 2017–18 |
George William Coetzee (born 18 July 1986) is a professional golfer from South Africa. He has won many golf tournaments, including five on the European Tour and 14 on the Sunshine Tour. He was also named the best player on the Sunshine Tour twice.
Contents
Early Life and Golf Beginnings
George Coetzee was born in Pretoria, South Africa. He finished high school in 2004. George started playing golf when he was 10 years old. He won his very first junior tournament, which was a great start! He even played well in the Callaway Junior World Championship in San Diego, finishing 4th and 8th. He later attended the University of San Diego for a short time. In 2007, George became a professional golfer.
Professional Golf Career
After turning professional, George Coetzee joined the Sunshine Tour in 2007. He quickly won his first tournament that same year. He won two more events in 2008.
Playing on the European Tour
George earned the right to play on the European Tour in 2010. This is a very big golf tour. In 2011, he almost won a major tournament, the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. He finished second after a long playoff. A playoff is when players who are tied play extra holes to decide the winner. He had a great year in 2011, finishing 26th in the Race to Dubai, which is the European Tour's ranking system. In 2012, he did even better, reaching the top 50 in the world golf rankings.
First European Tour Wins
In February 2014, George Coetzee won his first European Tour title at the Joburg Open. He played a fantastic final round to win by three strokes. He won his second European Tour title in March 2015 at the Tshwane Open. Just two months later, in May 2015, he won again at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. He won this tournament in a playoff, making a birdie on the second extra hole. A birdie means he finished the hole in one stroke less than expected. That year, he was also the top player on the Sunshine Tour.
More Victories and Achievements
In February 2016, George won the Dimension Data Pro-Am. He finished with amazing shots, including an eagle, to win by one stroke. An eagle means finishing a hole in two strokes less than expected. In 2018, he won the Tshwane Open again, which was his fourth European Tour win. He also won the Sunshine Tour's top player award for the second time.
In September 2020, George Coetzee won his fifth European Tour tournament, the Portugal Masters. This was a special win because it was his first European Tour victory that was not also part of the Sunshine Tour.
Amateur Wins
- 2006 Northern Amateur Open
Professional Wins (17)
European Tour Wins (5)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 Feb 2014 | Joburg Open1 | 65-68-69-66=268 | −19 | 3 strokes |  Tyrrell Hatton,  Jin Jeong, Justin Walters |
| 2 | 15 Mar 2015 | Tshwane Open1 | 67-66-68-65=266 | −14 | 1 stroke | Jacques Blaauw |
| 3 | 10 May 2015 | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open1,2 | 70-67-65-69=271 | −13 | Playoff |  Thorbjørn Olesen |
| 4 | 4 Mar 2018 | Tshwane Open1 (2) | 67-64-68-67=266 | −18 | 2 strokes | Sam Horsfield |
| 5 | 13 Sep 2020 | Portugal Masters | 66-70-66-66=268 | −16 | 2 strokes | Laurie Canter |
1Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour
2Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour
European Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2011 | Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles | Thomas Bjørn, Mark Foster, Pablo Larrazábal,  Bernd Wiesberger |
Bjørn won with birdie on fifth extra hole Foster eliminated by par on fourth hole Larrazábal eliminated by par on second hole Wiesberger eliminated by par on first hole |
| 2 | 2015 | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open | Thorbjørn Olesen |
Won with birdie on second extra hole |
Sunshine Tour Wins (15)
| Legend |
|---|
| Playoff events (1) |
| Other Sunshine Tour (14) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 Jun 2007 | Vodacom Origins of Golf at Selborne | 70-71-66=207 | −9 | 2 strokes | Ulrich van den Berg |
| 2 | 23 Aug 2008 | SAA Pro-Am Invitational | 72-66-69=207 | −9 | 3 strokes | Warren Abery,  Doug McGuigan |
| 3 | 19 Sep 2008 | Vodacom Origins of Golf (2) at Humewood | 71-68-73=212 | −4 | 1 stroke | Jean Hugo |
| 4 | 27 Feb 2011 | Telkom PGA Championship | 65-64-68-64=261 | −27 | 2 strokes | Neil Schietekat |
| 5 | 9 Feb 2014 | Joburg Open1 | 65-68-69-66=268 | −19 | 3 strokes | Tyrrell Hatton, Jin Jeong, Justin Walters |
| 6 | 15 Mar 2015 | Tshwane Open1 | 67-66-68-65=266 | −14 | 1 stroke | Jacques Blaauw |
| 7 | 10 May 2015 | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open1,2 | 70-67-65-69=271 | −13 | Playoff | Thorbjørn Olesen |
| 8 | 21 Feb 2016 | Dimension Data Pro-Am | 68-70-64-66=268 | −21 | 1 stroke | Dean Burmester |
| 9 | 4 Mar 2018 | Tshwane Open1 (2) | 67-64-68-67=266 | −18 | 2 strokes | Sam Horsfield |
| 10 | 2 Nov 2019 | Vodacom Origins of Golf Final (3) | 61-69-66=196 | −20 | 3 strokes | M. J. Viljoen |
| 11 | 4 Sep 2020 | Titleist Championship | 67-70-66=203 | −13 | 4 strokes | Tristen Strydom |
| 12 | 6 Aug 2021 | Vodacom Origins of Golf (4) at De Zalze | 63-66-69=198 | −18 | 3 strokes | Jaco Ahlers, Tristen Strydom |
| 13 | 6 Aug 2022 | Vodacom Origins of Golf (5) at De Zalze | 61-67-67=195 | −21 | 2 strokes | Joe Long |
| 14 | 6 Nov 2022 | PGA Championship (2) | 67-71-67-68=273 | −15 | 3 strokes | Casey Jarvis |
| 15 | 23 Mar 2025 | Serengeti Playoffs | 65-66-69-69=269 | −19 | 3 strokes | Daniel van Tonder |
1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
2Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour
Sunshine Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2015 | AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open | Thorbjørn Olesen |
Won with birdie on second extra hole |
Other Wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 Nov 2011 | Gary Player Invitational (with Mark James) |
64-61=125 | −19 | 4 strokes | Jaco van Zyl and  Ian Woosnam |
Major Golf Championships
Major championships are the most important golf tournaments in the world. George Coetzee has played in several of these big events.
| Tournament | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | |||||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | T56 | T70 | CUT | ||||
| The Open Championship | 15 | CUT | T71 | 18 | CUT | CUT | CUT | |
| PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | CUT | T7 | T60 |
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||
| PGA Championship | CUT | ||
| U.S. Open | |||
| The Open Championship | NT |
Top 10 Did not play CUT = missed the half-way cut (did not play all rounds)
"T" = tied (finished with the same score as other players)
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Summary of Major Results
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 7 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 2 (2013 U.S. Open – 2013 Open Championship)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1
World Golf Championships
The World Golf Championships (WGC) are a series of important annual golf tournaments. They feature the top-ranked golfers from around the world.
| Tournament | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | T53 | T16 | 57 | T56 | ||||
| Match Play | R64 | R64 | R16 | T17 | ||||
| Invitational | T21 | |||||||
| Champions | T56 | 74 | T12 | T40 | T50 |
Top 10 Did not play QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play (these tournaments are played as head-to-head matches)
"T" = tied
Team Appearances
George Coetzee has also represented South Africa in team golf events.
Professional
- World Cup (representing South Africa): 2013, 2016
See also
- List of male golfers
