Coert still in the hunt

The IGT Race to Q-School is heating up as local golfer Coert Groenewald climbed to fifth spot on the Race to Sunshine Q-School 2016/2017 rankings. This comes after he secured a tied ninth place finish in round 7 of the series at the Wingate Park Country Club in Pretoria. On day 1, Coert was on fire as he sunk eight birdies including six on the back nine, but had a double bogey on the par 4 hole 10. The following day, Coert was in even finer nick as he sunk an eagle on par 5 hole 15 along with three birdies, edging into the sole lead with a three-under-par 69. “I shanked my second shots at the first two holes, which is really not the way you want to start the round. Luckily the second hole is a par 5 and I got away with a birdie, but the poor start stuck in my head for a bit,” said Coert. On day 3, things were a little quiet for the Roodepoort golfer and he finished the tournament on 5-under-par 72 with Damian Naicker taking the victory.

Coert then had to do it all over again as he competed in the eighth round of the Race to Q-School as the Killarney Country Club. It was a shaky day 1 for Coert as he had three bogeys, but offset them with two birdies on the par 5 hole 15 and par 3 hole 17. On day day 2, the golfer still struggled with his rhythm but nevertheless sunk four birdies including two on the back nine to finish the day on level par 69. On day 3, Coert found his range as he offset a bogey in the front nine with three birdies. This ensured the golfer a tied fourth place position at two under 70 with Damian once again taking the victory.

The last Race to Q-School for November was hosted at the Centurion Country Club and on the first day of proceedings, Coert fired an almost flawless round of 65, which was only marred by a bogey on par 4 hole 13, just two shots behind the leader and eventual tournament winner NJ Arnoldi. On the second day, Coert sunk in five birdies for a round of 72 to keep himself in contention for victory. On the last day, things did not go according to plan for the Roodepoort golfer as he had three bogeys on the front nine and finished the tournament on par-under-seven 72. He was tied for eighth position and will now concentrate on the upcoming Sun City Race to Q-School at the Gary Player Golf Course in North West.

Coert turned pro on the IGT Tour in 2012 and competed on the country’s premier development circuit until he earned his card for the 2015 Sunshine Tour season.

“Unfortunately I didn’t keep my card and I’m definitely taking another stab at it next year.

I learned so much from my rookie season and hopefully all that experience plus the Race to Q-School will help me get there when we go back to Q-School next March,” he said.

Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.

For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites Randfontein Herald, Krugersdorp News and Get It Joburg West Magazine

Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!