George Coetzee and JJ Senekal set the tone for the Sunshine Tour’s new Courier Guy Playoffs Series as they both opened with rounds of seven-under-par 65 to share the first-round lead in the Serengeti Playoffs on Thursday, and with Dylan Naidoo just one shot behind them.
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Coetzee, a 14-time Sunshine Tour winner, and Senekal, a three-time champion on Tour, took advantage of a receptive Serengeti Estates golf course to claim a one-stroke lead in the first tournament of the new Courier Guy Playoffs Series.
Naidoo, the Investec South African Open champion, signed for a six-under-par 66 to join Altin van der Merwe, the current leader on the Fortress Rookie of the Year standings, as the leaders’ nearest challengers.
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But while Coetzee and Senekal signed for the same score, they were two very different rounds of golf.
Coetzee’s round had it all, including 11 birdies and four bogeys, with routine pars a rare commodity on his scorecard.
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“It started off pretty good, then good in the middle and good in the end. There were a couple of silly errors through the day, but altogether I think it was finally a decent round of golf from my side. The good golf was good. I’ll just try and build on that,” said Coetzee.
Coetzee is searching for his first win since 2022 and, faced with a strong field and a golf course in pristine condition this week, has decided to play an attacking game.
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“It’s a bit wet so you can attack the flags with the longer clubs, and I think the guys will take advantage of that. That was the plan for me today. It worked most of the time. I obviously paid the price a couple of times, but that’s the price you pay for being aggressive.”
Senekal’s round was far steadier with eight birdies and only one dropped shot on the par-three 15th. It was a strong finish of back-to-back birdies on his last two holes that saw him join the lead.
