Steyn City Championship Tips

If you’ve been listening to the podcast for any length of time, you may be surprised that I’m backing George Coetzee for the second time this season. I’ve been burned a few times in the past with the Pretoria man, that much is true, however the case for him this week is pretty strong after last week’s effort and of those near the top of the market, he’s my preference.

5 wins on the European Tour over the years before its re-brand, the most recent success at the Portugal Masters broke the low-level co-sanctioned sequence that had preceded it and highlighted that he could indeed win outside of that level.

This event though is back right in his comfort zone: 12 Sunshine Tour wins over the years demonstrates a level of ease on home soil and with 3 of those coming at the Joburg Open and Tshwane Open (twice), he’s clearly not afraid of carrying that form into co-sanctioned events of this kind of stature.

After missing the cut at the season-opening Abu Dhabi Championship, progress has been consistent and steady. 47^th at the Dubai Desert Classic, 27^th at the Ras al Khaimah Championship, 9^th the following week at Ras al Khaimah, then 4^th last week at Pecanwood great progression and if he’s to complete the sequence then a win here is the requirement.

We know how good a putter the 35 year-old can be, so to see SG Tee to Green ranks of 11^th, 15^th and then 3^rd last week from his last 3 starts is an eye-opener. Anything approaching his best with the flat stick would put him right in the mix if he can maintain that kind of level, and we’ve seen many times that once he finds some form he can maintain that for a few weeks and turn it, on occasion, into silverware. RESULT: T25

Although Thriston Lawrence’s tie for 9^th last week was ultimately frustrating for me given that I’d backed him each-way at 100/1, there was still a lot to like from his performance which came fresh off the back of a 2^nd place finish the before in Kenya.

One flat day is enough to scupper anyone’s chances on a birdie-fest and a Saturday round of 71 needed to be half a dozen shots better to give the Nelspruit native a real chance heading into the final day. To his credit, Lawrence ground out a top 10 finish with a round of 66 to close, which was beaten by just 3 other players in the field, and he’s got to be pleased with the way he’s playing overall at present.

Although we haven’t got a wide sample of results on DP World Tour tracks to present a bullet-proof case, a win at the Joburg Open – albeit rather fortuitously – coupled with his results over the past fortnight would suggest that he’s perfectly comfortable playing on courses that correlate well with this week. Altitude, Bentgrass greens and low totals all look to be right in the 25 year-old’s wheelhouse.

Long enough off the tee to compensate for the weather and underfoot conditions this week, he’s ranked 2^nd and 10^th for greens hit over the past fortnight and any spark with the putter could see him compiling a very competitive total here this week. RESULT: T8

Following an impressive start to 2022, the secret’s well and truly out about Hurly Long’s potential.

Shooting 61 as an amateur on a course as iconic as Pebble Beach is sure to get many an observer of golf scribbling in their notebook, and the amateur milestones came thick and fast for the young German who represented his nation three times in the Eisenhower Trophy and five times in the European Amateur Team Championship.

A win on the Pro Golf Tour in 2019 came at 24-under par from just 3 rounds, including a closing round of 60, to underline his scoring ability and he bettered that in the autumn of 2020 by taking the Italian Challenge Open title on the 2^nd tier.

Of course the next stage now is to push on at DP World Tour level and finishes of 18^th and 3^rd at the Ras al Khaimah double-header, followed up with a runner-up finish in Kenya the week before last, suggests that the door will open sooner rather than later.

I can forgive the 26 year-old last week’s tie for 57^th given the exertions of the previous week; he putted well once again – the 4^th consecutive outing where he ranked inside the top 10 for putting average – however the long game fell away versus the contending weeks prior to that. If that was just a blip, effectively a reaction to his effort the previous week, then I’m happy to take a chance that he can get back up to contending form this week. RESULT: T21

Another player who put 3 good rounds together last week only to be hampered by his Saturday performance was Francesco Laporta.

A pair of 67s to open his account at Pecanwood had the Italian inside the top 20, only for his good work to be undone with a round of 73 on moving day. Like Thriston Lawrence who I mentioned earlier, Laporta also closed last week’s event with a strong round of 66 and he could take that positive momentum into this week’s test.

The most eye-catching stat from last week’s effort was that the 31 year-old led the field for putts per GIR; although never an exact science that statistic with the preference going to Strokes Gained nowadays, it’s worth noting that last week’s winner Pablo Larrazabal also ranked first on that count on his previous start, so coming into these low-scoring events with some positive vibes emanating from the flat stick is never a bad thing.

To date, Francesco hasn’t built on his two Challenge Tour successes in 2019 with victory at the top level, however last year’s results hinted more than ever that he’s on the cusp of a breakthrough. 4^th at the Irish Open (on the Nicklaus-designed Mount Juliet), 4^th at the Italian Open, 6^th at the BMW PGA Championship, 7^th at the Portugal Masters and 2^nd at the Aviv Dubai Championship are all decent efforts and after a quiet start to 2022 he could be ready to push on once again as he seeks out that first win at DP World Tour level. RESULT: MC

Finally I’ll close with Richard Sterne whose recent upturn in form may be a little more than just a flash in the pan.

At the peak of his powers back in 2008, the South African sneaked inside the world’s top 30 for a fleeting moment and recorded WGC top-10 finishes at Doral and Firestone to accompany his 6 European Tour wins back in the day.

4 of those wins came in his homeland and 2 of them were in the vicinity of this week’s test at the Joburg Open, the most recent of which in 2013 came at a whopping 27-under par. The Pretoria native can play at altitude, he can putt on Bentgrass greens, and he can compile a score – all good foundations for this week’s task.

Of course, the reason that he’s available at a 3-figure price – despite finishing in a tie for 5^th last week at Pecanwood – is that the past few years haven’t been as fruitful as his early career, and that’s being polite. Wrist and back issues, hip and knee operations – Sterne’s had the lot. A light schedule has understandably followed in recent times, however 26^th in Kenya hinted at some form with middle rounds of 68 & 67, before opening rounds of 64 & 65 last week put him back in the heat of battle for the first time in a good few years. A flat weekend meant that 5^th place was the reward in the end, however his game looked good across the board statistically and perhaps that effort will stir up the competitive juices. RESULT: T60