Closing 66 fires Coetzee to title

Home favourite George Coetzee produced a closing 66 to claim the Joburg Open by three shots.

Fellow countryman Justin Walters had held the overnight lead alongside another South African in Thomas Aiken but neither of the leading duo could break par in their final rounds, leaving the way open for Coetzee to claim his first win on the European Tour.

Victory at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club was also enough to earn the 27-year-old a spot at this year’s Open Championship where he will be joined by Walters and South Korea’s Jin Jeong. The top three were handed a place at Royal Liverpool but Englishman Tyrell Hatton, who also finished on 16 under, misses out due to his 276th position in the world rankings being lower than that of Walters and Jeong.