A double-bogey seven on the final hole on Saturday hamstrung George Coetzee’s effort to stay in contention in the third round of the DP World Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links Abu Dhabi in the UAE.
After an opening nine of level-par 36 with one birdie and one bogey, Coetzee got things to three-under with birdies on the 11th, 12th and 17th. But he pulled his tee shot into the water on the left on the 18th. His third off the tee was okay, but his fourth on the par-five found a fairway bunker. He left his approach 15 yards short and got down in two from there for seven.
He finished the round in a share of 16th on nine-under, four strokes off the lead which was shared by Australia’s Min Woo Lee, former Open champion Shane Lowry and another former Open champion Francesco Molinari. They led by one from Grant Forrest of Scotland, Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg and Frenchman Victor Perez, all on 12-under.
The only other South African to make the cut was Alfred Dunhill Championship winner Ockie Strydom, and he carded a one-over 73 to be on one-under for the tournament in a share of 64th place.
