With the joint-low lap of the morning session at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course, a 6-under-par 31-34=65, George Coetzee moved to 8-under 134 thru 36 holes of the Portugal Masters, advancing 35 spots up the leaderboard to solo third.
That’s two swings back from fellow South African Brandon Stone. The 33-year-old, who finished third at last week’s Open de France, had an adventurous outward nine with four birdies (10, 12, 15 and 17), a bogey (13) and eagle-3 at 18 after draining his approach from 109 yards. He wobbled early on his second nine with bogeys at 1 and 3 but picked up shots at 4, 5 and 7. “I felt really comfortable with the putter out there,” he said. “Every putt I had I kind of felt like I could give it a go, try and make it. And I guess if you have that attitude, you’ll make a couple more.” Coetzee has three previous top sevens at the course so is definitely a dangerman heading into the weekend.