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George Coetzee wins the Portuguese Masters
South Africa George Coetzee made five birdies on a five-under par 66 on Sunday to capture his fourth European tour title in the Masters of Portugal at the Dom Pedro Victoria golf course.
It was Coetzee’s first win in Europe, with his previous win on the European Tour in South Africa (Joburg Open, Tshwane Open twice) and Mauritius (Mauritius Open).
“That was the next step for me (to win on European soil),” Coetzee told reporters on Sunday.
“I’ve always had a list of things that I wanted to achieve in my golfing career and originally I never thought it would go as far as winning on the European Tour, so checking that box a while ago was really good, and then I started to realize. that I felt a bit comfortable playing at home and needed to take the next step and win away from home. “
Coetzee, who had a one-shot lead before the final round at Quarteira, finished in 16 minors to win the tournament by two strokes.
Coetzee was playing in his first European Tour event since the Qatar Masters in March.
He played in the first three events of the Sunshine Tour Rise-Up Series and entered this week’s event immediately after a victory on the Sunshine Tour, where he won the Titleist Championship at Pretoria Country Club.
“I have some bad memories of finishing on this golf course, so I was very nervous playing this course and knowing there are booby traps around the corner from time to time, so I turn to 18 and hit the best drive I can. I found in the whole week., I was surprised, “he said.
“I told my caddy, I can’t believe I just did that, and my mental preparation paid off as well.”
It was the second victory for a South African golfer on this year’s European Tour after Branden Grace won the South African Open in January.
Scores from the leading final round at the Portugal Masters of the European Tour in Vilamoura on Sunday (GBR / IRL unless noted, par 71):
268 – George Coetzee (RSA) 66 70 66 66
270 – Laurie Canter 64 72 68 66
271 – Tommy Fleetwood 68 71 68 64, Joakim Lagergren (SWE) 69 69 68 65
273 –Masahiro Kawamura (Japan) 67 71 65 70
274 – Niklas Lemke (SWE) 70 69 65 70, Sebastián García Rodríguez (ESP) 70 68 67 69
275 – Jason Scrivener (AUS) 69 68 70 68, Jorge Campillo (ESP) 68 71 70 66, Julien Guerrier (FRA) 62 66 75 72, Johannes Veerman (United States) 69 68 70 68, John Catlin (United States) 72 69 65 69, Scott Vincent (ZIM) 70 65 72 68
George Coetzee is a winner again! ??#PortugalMasters pic.twitter.com/5egakK31U5
– The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) September 13, 2020
– Compiled by Sport24 staff
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