George Coetzee returns to the United States for Accenture Match Play Championship - Golf News
South African George Coetzee is going to make his debut on the PGA Tour as a professional golfer through this week’s World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play Championship.
The tournament is scheduled to be staged at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, Arizona.
It will be his first appearance in the United States since his last visit in 2005, when he played as an amateur, representing the University of San Diego.
According to Coetzee, his last visit to the US was not a good one in terms of his performance, as he failed to break 80 in his four-month stay in San Diego.
Apart from that, he enjoyed his stay because of the pleasant weather conditions and other facilities provided to him during his stay. "San Diego is a pretty nice place to be," he said.
"The weather is pretty good, and there's a lot of other good things you can do other than play golf. There was no one else to blame but myself. After four months, I couldn't break 80. And I think it took me another three months to break par," he stated.
According to him, he was happy about his decision to go back to South Africa and play local tournaments. He then participated in the South African Open grouped with Retief Goosen and Tim Clark.
He missed the cut in the tournament after making 84 and 88 in the first two rounds he played.
Among all the players who completed their second round, Billy Valentyn was the only one to record higher score compared to Coetzee finishing 85 and 88.
Sharing his thoughts about the disappointing event, Coetzee said that he never expected such a bad performance after getting a place through a win at South African Amateur in 2005.
"I shot 88 ... and I putted like a champion," Coetzee said while talking to reporters in Arizona.
He went on, "So I had to kind of make a decision -- either play golf or go back and take my studies pretty seriously. It's kind of a no-brainer for me. I love my sport way too much".
Coetzee is now playing in the event in place of Paul Casey who withdrew due to a shoulder injury he suffered a month ago.
He is paired with the world number two and the US Champion, Rory McIlroy, for his opening match on Wednesday.
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