George Coetzee

Height: 5 ft. 10 in 

Weight: 209 lbs 

Birthday: 07/18/1986

College:  University of San Diego

Turned Pro: 2007 

Birthplace: Pretoria, South Africa

Country:  South Africa

Sponsor: Titleist

Coetzee only attended the University of San Diego for a single semester before he decided to run pro in 2007. He began his life as a professional playing on the Sunshine Tour which is the Tour circuit in his native South Africa. He quickly settled in and won in his rookie season. He proceeded to win twice the following season on his way to finishing 20th on the money list. Coetzee attended the European Tour Q School in 2009 and won a card for the 2010 season.

He had a challenging rookie season, only two top 10 finishes meant that the South African finished a lowly 125th on the money list and therefore had to return to Q School. He proceeded to once again make it through the gruelling six round event with a Tour card. He had a breakout season with eight top 10 finishes including a runner up finish at the Johnnie Walker Championship where he lost out to Thomas Bjorn after a five man play-off. He also played in his first Major Championship at Royal St. George’s where he finished a very respectable 15th.

Coetzee improved on his 26th place finish on the 2011 money list by moving to 21st on the list in 2012. It was also the year which saw the South African break into the OWGR top 50 for the first time. After having three runner-up finishes on the Tour, Coetzee finally managed to capture a European Tour title in 2014 when he won the Joburg Open by three shots. The 2015 season brought the South African two more Tour wins. In March, Coetzee once again won in his native South Africa at the Tshwane Open. In May, he captured the Mauritius Open when he beat Thorbjorn Olesen on the second play-off hole.