George Coetzee returned to the scene of his first golfing triumph to claim the Tshwane Open at Pretoria Country Club.
South African Coetzee put home advantage to full use to win his second European Tour title, carding a flawless final round of 65 to finish one shot ahead of compatriot Jacques Blaauw at the course where he has been a member since taking up the game and where he won his first junior competition aged ten.
Blaauw had charged through the field with a stunning closing 61 to equal the course record and set the clubhouse target at 13 under par, with the final groups still having nine holes to play.
However, Coetzee - who was one of six players sharing the lead overnight - was just one behind after finishing his front nine with three birdies in four holes and picked up further shots on the back nine to seal victory.
The decisive moment came on the 17th after Coetzee had tried to drive the green on the short par four.
His tee shot came up in the trees short and right of the green but with a clear path between two bunkers the World Number 87 took full advantage, chipping to five feet and holing for a birdie to take a one shot lead down the last.
“To win at your own club in front of all your friends and family – the crowds were amazing, I could just feel the momentum building and the crowd getting bigger and bigger towards the end. It’s a great experience and a very special day for me,” said Coetzee, whose previous European Tour win also came on home soil at last year’s Joburg Open.
“I think I’ve got this course down after 18 years of playing golf! I think it played to my advantage knowing when to be aggressive and when not to.
“I threw one club championship away here by playing conservative on 17, so today it was quite an easy decision to hit driver!”
One of six players tied for the lead at the start of the day, the 28 year old Coetzee had endured a slow start with five straight pars but almost drove the sixth green and chipped to two feet for birdie.
A hat-trick of gains from the eighth started with an excellent tee shot to ten feet, before getting up-and-down from a greenside bunker on the long ninth and holing from 15 feet at the next to catch Blaauw moments after the clubhouse target had been set.
Speaking immediately after his round, Blaauw said: "It was fun out there, everything just went in.
"I got a bit of luck on nine when I hit it left but had a swing and got it up and down it for birdie, and then after that made some putts. It's always good to be in contention in these big events coming down the stretch."
Scotland's Craig Lee was just one off the lead when he carded his fourth birdie of the day on the 14th, but bogeyed the next and then took a double bogey on the last to drop back to nine under alongside South African pair Dean Burmester and Tjaart van der Walt.
