Return home helped George Coetzee get to Masters

If George Coetzee had stayed in the U.S., he might not be in Augusta this week.

But the South African is here, playing at Augusta Na­tional Golf Club, getting tips from countryman Gary Player and preparing for his first chance at winning the green jacket.

“It’s great. This is kind of the stage you want to be on: thousands and thousands of people on Mondays and Tuesdays. What more do you want?” Coetzee said.

The 26-year old qualified for his first Masters Tournament by squeaking inside the top 50 at No. 49 on the last Official World Golf Ranking of 2012. He had eight top-10 finishes on the European Tour in 2012.

It’s been a turnaround for Coetzee, who attended the University of San Diego for a semester in 2005 and played for Tim Mickelson, Phil’s brother. While there, he admits there were some “fun nights” and his game suffered.

“I wasn’t ready to be alone in a different country,” he said.

Coetzee returned home, put his time into golf, and his play soon improved. He has picked up four wins on South Africa’s Sunshine Tour, and this year earned a pair of top finishes at the Joburg Open (tied for third) and the Qatar Masters (tied for second).

The good results fed his confidence, which led to more good play.

“The one feeds the other,” Coetzee said. “When you play well, you start believing, and when you start believing, you start playing better and more often.”

On Tuesday, Coetzee played a practice round with three-time Masters champion Play­er and Branden Grace to form a group of three South Afri­cans.

“Gary’s obviously done a lot for golf, and we’ve all looked up to him at one stage or another,” Coetzee said. “He’s a little before my time, but obviously knowing that he’s won all these events, he knows Augusta better than any others. I picked his brain out there. Hopefully it will pay off this week.”