So hot! The Goose is cooking
Brad Morgan
16 September 2005
The hottest golfer in the world at present is surely South Africa's quiet superstar, Retief Goosen. With three victories worldwide since early July, "The Goose" is in scintillating form.
It started with a win in The International over a world class field at Castle Pines in August, followed up with victory in the Volkswagen China Masters at the beginning of September.
Titles on three tours
Then, a week later, Goosen added the Linde German Masters title, meaning his last three wins have come on three different tours: the US PGA Tour, the Asian Tour, and the PGA European Tour.
No matter where he has played, no matter the travel involved, the Goose has been on fire.
His latest victory, at Gut Lärchenhof last weekend, very nearly came apart at the last hole, but he overcame the challenge of finding the water to seal the win with a bogey.
It was a very consistent and good performance from the
Goose, who carded rounds of 67, 68, 66, and 67. But he was pushed hard for victory with four players - Nick Dougherty, David Lynn, José Maria Olazábal and Henrik Stenson - all finishing within a shot on 19-under par 269.
Magnificent response
To achieve the win Goosen had to overcome a double-bogey six on the second hole, and he responded in magnificent fashion, picking up birdies on eight of the next 13 holes.
Heading into the 18th, a par-four, he had a two-shot lead over the chasing pack. But there was drama to come. Goosen's three-wood tee-shot found the water hazard on the left of the fairway. So he had a choice to make: either play the ball or take a penalty drop. He chose the penalty.
His decision served him well. A superb approach shot over the water stopped within six feet of the pin and from there the tournament was won, even though he missed his putt for par.
Looking back on his win, Goosen said he had struggled in
all his previous visits to Germany, so to finally get a win under his belt was great.
'My putter got hot'
"The weather was great and my putter got hot and I holed a lot of putts," he said.
The victory has lifted the Goose to the top of the Order of Merit, putting him within reach of hat-trick of times atop the money winners' list. He previously topped it in 2001 and 2002, while Ernie Els did the trick in 2003 and 2004.
Should he win for the third time, it would mean that a South African has been the leading money winner in Europe for five years in succession.
Goosen currently sits on earnings of €2 057 910.12, over €250 000 ahead of the man second in the standings, US Open champion Michael Campebell.
Goosen's victory in the Linde German Masters was worth €500 000 - just under R4-million.
Further down the leaderboard another South African, Charl Schwartzel, after really struggling with his game in recent times, fired
a final round five-under par 67 to finish on 10-under 278, in a tie for 26th.
Fellow countryman Louis Oosthuizen finished on 4-under par 284, while James Kingston, Martin Maritz, Darren Fichardt and Richard Sterne all missed the cut.
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