St Francis Bay — George Coetzee says there is no magic recipe for winning golf, but the 13-time champion on the Sunshine Tour enjoyed more than a few ounces of inspiration on Saturday as a bogey-free 67 carried him back to the top of the leader board after the penultimate round of the PGA Championship at the St Francis Links.
Two birdies on the front nine and three coming in — two of them back-to-back on the 12th and 13th holes — lifted Coetzee to 11-under-par for the tournament, one stroke clear of Rhys West, who shot a 68.
Second-round leader Casey Jarvis posted a 71 on Saturday and is on nine-under-par, together with Stefan Wears-Taylor (67), Jake Redman (68) and Hennie Otto (69).
“It wasn’t really my plan to not get any bogeys, I just wanted to play good golf,” Coetzee said. “This course has some teeth and you have to pick those parts where you can be aggressive and where you can’t be aggressive.
“I think I balanced that out quite well, I made pars on the tough holes and birdies on some of the easier holes. Being experienced is more about what you do than what you know.
“But it does help that I am more conservative on a course that I don’t know that well, I kind of stick to how the course wants me to play.
“I think only Tiger Woods really knew how to win, the rest of us are all learning as we go along. I’ve won a few tournaments, but there’s no pattern to it, no magic recipe,” Coetzee said.
Overnight leader Jarvis had two eagles on the front nine, on the par-five third and then holing out with his second on the par-four fifth hole, but after a double-bogey six on the par-four 15th he surrendered the lead to Coetzee.
There are also four golfers on seven-under-par who will be chasing after glory in the final round on Sunday — last week’s winner of the Vodacom Origins of Golf final Combrinck Smit (66), Luke Jerling (67), Peter Karmis (67) and Martin Vorster (71).
But after all the titles he has won, including the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series event at De Zalze in August, the 36-year-old Coetzee has clear aims for the final round.
“I will just be trying to make good decisions, try to play decent golf and be excited about playing under pressure,” Coetzee said.
Scores at the end of Round 3
205 — George Coetzee 67 71 67
206 — Rhys West 68 70 68
207 — Stefan Wears-Taylor 69 71 67, Jake Redman 72 67 68, Hennie Otto 69 69 69, Casey Jarvis 68 68 71
209 — Combrinck Smit 71 72 66, Luke Jerling 74 68 67, Peter Karmis 72 70 67, Martin Vorster 71 67 71
211 — Jean Hugo 70 73 68, Danie Van Niekerk 67 73 71
212 — Jean-Paul Strydom 72 72 68, Doug McGuigan 72 72 68, Samuel Simpson 69 72 71, Erhard Lambrechts 71 70 71, Dylan Mostert 72 68 72, Hennie O'Kennedy 68 70 74
213 — Sean Bradley 72 72 69, Heinrich Bruiners 74 70 69, Jacques Blaauw 73 71 69, Clinton Grobler 72 72 69, Albert Venter 73 70 70, Jake Roos 68 74 71, Malcolm Mitchell 70 68 75
214 — Bradley Bawden 72 72 70, Robin Williams 72 70 72
Sunshine Tour