George Coetzee's quest for a first European Tour title continued to gather pace with an eight under par 64 at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington's East Course on the second day of the Joburg Open.
With 21 top-ten finishes to his name - most recently tied second on his last outing in Qatar - Coetzee again performed well with five birdies on the way out and three more on the way home to reach the halfway stage on 12 under par, three strokes off the hot pace set by Trevor Fisher Jnr and 2008 winner Richard Sterne.
"I didn't feel like I was hitting it great over the first couple of holes, but the ball was going where I wanted it and from then on I started getting a bit more confidence," said Coetzee, whose round was only one outside Charl Schwartzel’s course record.
"Richard making birdie on every other hole made me want to make another birdie on the next hole, so we pulled each other along pretty well," he said.
"I hit it great until the stretch, where I made pars and a couple of birdies. All in all I was pretty happy with my game."
Asked about his wait to enter the winner’s circle, Coetzee added: "I don't even think about those things, well, I try not to. Every now and then it will pop up and you have to get back into the zone, into the now.
"I try not to think about it and I tell myself that I want to finish top-ten instead, and that normally calms me down. I can achieve that in the position I am in at the moment.
“If the win comes I'll be happy, but if it doesn't, as long as I'm playing well, I'll be happy.”
