A rusty George Coetzee admits he does not know what to expect when he tries to defend his title in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open this week.
Coetzee claimed his third European Tour victory in Mauritius 12 months ago after defeating Thorbjorn Olesen in a play-off, but broke his ankle while surfing in September and was ruled out for the rest of the season.
The South African made a promising return to action in 2016 by making six cuts in seven European Tour events and winning a tournament on the Sunshine Tour, before deciding to take an extended break to continue his rehabilitation.
"I don't know how my game will be," the 29-year-old from Pretoria said. "It's been six weeks since my last event so it's been a while since I've been tested. There's definitely some rust to work off before the tournament starts.
"The last six weeks have been fun. I went surfing the first couple of weeks and broke a couple of boards - luckily no ankles! Then I went fishing last week and had a great time with (Richard) Sterne and (Charl) Schwartzel and another couple of mates in the Seychelles. It was great to be out there doing other stuff and not talking only about golf.
"It's probably going to be another couple of months before the ankle is pain-free. It's a slow process. I've been working hard on trusting it and committing to it when I swing."
Coetzee's victory last year came at Heritage Golf Club, but this year's event has moved to the Four Seasons Golf Club at Anahita, where former Ryder Cup star Nicolas Colsaerts will be hoping to put "home" advantage to good use.
The 33-year-old Belgian has been the touring professional for the venue since 2010 and could think of few better places to win his first tournament since 2012, the same year he was part of Europe's Ryder Cup 'Miracle at Medinah'.
"I came here in 2010 to play in the first edition of a pro-am event they have here every December and I've been coming back every year since," said Colsaerts, who has recorded just one top-10 finish from 10 events this season.
"Sometimes in winter I spend two or three weeks here, so I know everyone from the guy who picks up the balls on the range to the guy serving the water and ice creams on the beach at the hotel. It's like a second home.
"They've re-shaped the fairways, so the course is bit different from what I'm used to, and it's going to be a great test for us. There are a few holes where the longer hitters can take advantage - you can fly a couple of bunkers.
"I can reach all the par fives in two, but maybe not the second this week because of the wind being right in your face. The holes into the wind will be pretty difficult actually. It will have a bit of a links feel to it."
Source: PA
