Several of South Africa’s top international campaigners will be hunting a maiden European Tour title on home soil when the 2012 Africa Open tees off in Buffalo City from January 5-8.
European Tour members George Coetzee, Jaco van Zyl, Jbe Kruger and Branden Grace will go head-to-head with defending champion Louis Oosthuizen and 2009 winner Retief Goosen as they chase a fast start in The 2012 Race to Dubai when the €1-million tournament returns to East London Golf Club for the fourth successive season.
Although Coetzee finished the 2011 season ranked 26th in The Race to Dubai following an impressive campaign which included seven top ten finishes and earnings of €913 128, a maiden European Tour title has thus far eluded him.
The 25 year old from Pretoria underlined his credentials with third place finishes in the Portugal Masters, the Barclays Scottish Open, the BMW International and the Alfred Dunhill Championship, and came mightily close to capturing his maiden title at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, where he was pipped to the prize in a playoff by Denmark’s Thomas Björn.
But Coetzee hopes he can make his breakthrough in East London, saying: “I came close a couple of times this season, so I feel it’s just a matter of time. I’ll be pushing hard next year, and if I can sneak into the winner’s circle in East London that would be a perfect start to the 2012 season.”
Coetzee won two of his four Sunshine Tour victories at coastal courses, and said his previous finishes in this event – a tie for 28th in 2010 and 71st in 2011 – won’t weigh on his mind come January.
“I learned so much playing in Europe this past year,” he said. “I really improved my course management, which has not always been sharp at the East London layout. It’s the type of course where you can cash in on a windless day, but you have to keep your wits about you when the wind is up. I think that’s where I fell short in previous years.”
Van Zyl also enjoyed a strong season in Europe, finishing 50th in The Race to Dubai. He tied for third place at the Omega European Masters and finished second at the Tropheé Hassan II, but it is a tie for third at Alfred Dunhill Championship and fourth at the Africa Open that has the 32 year old from Johannesburg hopeful of translating his solid form on home soil into a maiden European Tour victory.
“It’s going to be tough,” he said. “The field is full of European Tour and Sunshine Tour winners and everyone wants to start a new season on a high, so the guys will be motivated.
“East London is a great venue for our first event – the wind really gets rid of the cobwebs. Last year I saw first hand how the leaderboard was flooded when the wind died down and how it separated the men from the boys when it started blowing. It’s a real thinking man’s course and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Kruger also has fond memories of East London, and a strong performance could put the man from Bloemfontein back on the winning track.
“I had a bunch of top 10 and top five finishes this season and I improved my consistency, but I didn’t win anything, so that’s a priority for next year,” said the globetrotting 25 year old, who ended the season ranked 92nd in The Race to Dubai, 15th on the Sunshine Tour and fourth on the Asian Tour Orders of Merit.
He said: “In 2010, I finished third at East London and in January I tied for eighth, so I think it’s fair to say that I love this course. The course really suits my eye, and there are a lot of risk and reward opportunities.
“I think it’s a fair test with plenty of birdie chances. But when the wind comes up, your red numbers can turn blue in a heartbeat.”
Grace secured his European Tour card in a return trip to the Qualifying School Final in December, and is now raring to get his 2012 campaign underway.
“It was a frustrating season,” said the 23 year old from Knysna. “I had some really good results and some pretty poor ones, so I’m keen to start with a clean slate. I love the track in East London. It’s the kind of course where the wind plays such a big factor and it’s never over until the last putt drops.”
Grace hopes to convert two ties for eighth place and a runner-up finish in 2009 into his first European Tour victory come January.
“It took me a couple of years to break through on the Sunshine Tour, and I feel the time is now right for me to challenge for my first European Tour win. East London and I have a good history, so I hope I can cash in on three solid performances and pull it through this time.”
The field will be further boosted by three 2011 European Tour champions in SSP Chowrasia of India and South Africans Thomas Aiken and Garth Mulroy, as well as 2011 Challenge Tour winners Benjamin Hebert from France and England’s Sam Little.
Chowrasia captured the Avantha Masters in February, while Aiken won the Open de España in May. Mulroy broke through for his debut European Tour victory at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in November.
Hebert reeled off three victories at the Rolex Trophy, English Challenge and Credit Suisse Challenge, while Little also cashed in three times, winning the Roma Golf Open, the M2M Russian Challenge Cup and the Allianz Golf Open Grand Toulouse.
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