Charl Schwartzel

Schwartzel enjoyed a dominant junior amateur career in South Africa and won amateur events in other countries, too, including the 2002 Indian Amateur and English Open Stroke Play Championships. He played for South Africa at the 2002 Eisenhower Trophy. Schwartzel turned professional at age 18 and qualified for the European Tour late that year, the second-youngest South African golfer to do so after Dale Hayes.
Schwartzel will be remembered in major championship folklore as the only player to finish a major with four consecutive birdies to win. He accomplished that feat during his two-stroke victory at the 2011 Masters. He became the first Masters champion to birdie the final four holes and the first to play the final four holes in four under par since Jack Nicklaus did so in 1986. He became the seventh major championship winner from South Africa and the third to win the Masters. His victory at Augusta National came exactly 50 years to the day after countryman Gary Player's first Masters win. Player was the first international winner of the Masters in 1961.
Schwartzel entered the final round of the 2011 Masters four strokes behind Rory McIlroy but stormed back in the largest come-from-behind win at the Masters since Nick Faldo recovered from six down to defeat Greg Norman in 1996. Schwartzel triumphed on a day when as many as five players shared the lead at one point. His winning score, 14-under-par 274, was the lowest by an international champion at the Masters and equaled the sixth-lowest of all time. He won earlier that year at the 2011 Joburg Open. He had a stellar 2010, winning his first two starts of the year, the Africa Open and the Joburg Open. He successfully defended his title in the latter a year later, winning by four strokes. He was only the second player to win three consecutive Sunshine Tour Order of Merit titles, doing so from 2005 (the year he won his first European Tour title at age 20, the Dunhill Championship, on home soil) and '07.
Schwartzel continues a fine family tradition of golfers. His father, George, was a successful amateur before turning professional, and his brother, Adrian, who has caddied for his older sibling on occasions, has played on the South African circuit.
Schwartzel overcame illness to win the inaugural Madrid Masters in 2008, having considered withdrawing before the second round due to a virus and a shoulder injury. A phone call to his father changed his mind. He shot 64 in the second round and ultimately won by three strokes. It was his second victory in the Spanish capital following his win at the 2007 Open de Espana. Joined the PGA Tour in 2011 based on his non-member earnings in 2010. Has earned his private pilot's license. Enjoys hunting and cars. Played in 2011, '13, '15, and '17 Presidents Cup.
2010 Notes: He played 11 PGA Tour events, making nine cuts and three top-10 finishes. In 2011, he joined both the PGA Tour and the European Tour.
2011 Notes: Won his first major at the Masters while making the cut in all 15 of his starts on the PGA Tour. Had three top-10s and 10 top-25 finishes. Finished 32nd in the FedExCup to just miss a spot at the Tour Championship. He was one of four rookies on the International Presidents Cup team, posting a record of 3-1-1 in a losing cause.
2012 Notes: He had only two top-10 finishes but seven top-25s in 16 PGA Tour starts. Finished 61st in the FedExCup standings and 89th on the money list. After the PGA Tour season, his game heated up, finishing the year with an 11-stroke victory at the Thailand Golf Championship on the Asian Tour and a 12-stroke win at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa, a European Tour event.
2013 Notes: Was runner-up at the Joburg Open. Finished T-3rd at the Northern Trust Open and 3rd at the HP Byron Nelson. Shot four under-par rounds at the BMW Championship to finish T-8th for his fifth top-10 of the season, jumping from 29th to 23rd in the FedExCup standings and making his first trip to the Tour Championship. Finished 29th at East Lake, dropping him to 27th in the FedExCup race and 25th on the money list. Next week, flew to Scotland and shot four rounds in the 60s to finish T-7th at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He returned to the United States and played for the International Presidents Cup team for the second time, posting a 2-3-0 record. Earning more frequent flyer points, he flew to China and won the Nanshan China Masters, defeating Darren Clarke and Liang Wen-Chong by a stroke. The victory was his 10th international title. Finished 27th in the Race to Dubai.
2014 Notes: He started his season in December 2013 on native soil with a T-4th at the South African Open. A week later, he successfully defended his Alfred Dunhill Championship. Finished T-4th trying to defend his title at the Thailand Golf Championship. Had a handful of top-10s on the PGA Tour: 5th at Northern Trust, T-9th at WGC-Cadillac, T-8th at The Memorial, T-7th at the British Open, T-4th at WGC-Bridgestone. Finished 43rd in the FedExCup standings, 44th on the money list, and 24th in the Race to Dubai.
2015 Notes: Started the year as runner-up at the South African Open, then finished T-9th at the Abu Dhabi Championship. On the Sunshine Tour, he was T-5th at the Investec Cup, two strokes behind winner Jaco Ahlers. He also had a T-9th at the WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship, losing his round-of-16 match to Paul Casey, 3 & 1. After finishing 7th at the U.S. Open, flew to Japan and placed T-10th at the Handa Global Cup. Finished T-3rd at the Wyndham Championship. He played in one FedExCup playoff event, The Barclays, where he missed the cut. Finished the PGA Tour year ranked 108th in the FedExCup standings and 81st on the money list. On the European Tour, he finished the year with a T-4th at the DP World Tour Championship and ranked 23rd in the Race to Dubai. He went 1-3-0 in his four Presidents Cup matches.
2016 Notes: Got off to a good start with a T-6th at the Frys.com Open. Two months later, he won the Alfred Dunhill, was T-9th at the Nedbank, and won the Tshwane Open in his native South Africa. Won for a second time on the PGA Tour at the Valspar Championship, defeating Bill Haas in a playoff. His next top-10 came on the Japan Tour, a T-5th at the Handa Global Cup. The following week, he finished T-7th at the WGC-Bridgestone. Thanks to a final-round 64 at the BMW Championship, he finished T-4th and advanced to the 30th spot at the Tour Championship, edging Rickie Fowler by less than a point. Was T-10th at East Lake to finish 25th in the FedExCup standings and 28th on the money list. On the European Tour, was 3rd in the DP World Tour Dubai to finish 21st in the Race to Dubai.
2017 Notes: Finished T-4th at the Alfred Dunhill Championship. Earned his first PGA Tour top-10 of the year with a 6th-place performance in his defense of the Valspar Championship. Was 3rd at the Masters, three strokes out of the Garcia/Rose playoff. Best finish of the year was a T-2nd at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, one stroke behind winner Daniel Berger. Advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs for the seventh consecutive season but failed to reach the Tour Championship, finishing 44th in the FedExCup standings. Represented the International Team in his fourth consecutive Presidents Cup competition with a 1-2-0 record.
2018 Notes: Played 20 PGA Tour events, making 13 cuts with three top-10s. He was 105th in the FedExCup standings. Had a good May, finishing T-2nd at The Players Championship, four strokes behind winner Webb Simpson. He was T-3rd at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he teamed with fellow South African Louis Oosthuizen. Finished T-9th at the Wells Fargo Championship and the Porsche European Open. He was T-8th at the Omega European Masters. In 13 starts on the European Tour, he finished 96th in the Race to Dubai.
2019 Notes: Played in 13 PGA Tour events, making four cuts with one top-10. Ranked 192nd in the FedExCup standings. Schwartzel was T-3rd at the South African Open, eight strokes behind winner Louis Oosthuizen. Finished T-6th at the Puerto Rico Open, four strokes behind winner Martin Trainer. In Valspar's pro-am, one of his partners hit a shot that struck Schwartzel in the left wrist, and the injury seemed to get worse. It was so bad that it forced him to withdraw from the PGA Championship. Right before the U.S. Open, Schwartzel announced that he would take the remainder of 2019 off to rest the wrist and hope it healed.
2020 Notes: Played in 12 PGA Tour events, making five cuts with two top-10 finishes. He was 128th in the FedExCup standings. For months, he looked for answers to his recurring nerve problems in his wrist, but after plenty of rest, he felt it was time to start playing again. At the Alfred Dunhill Championship, he finished T-3rd, two strokes behind winner Pablo Larrazabal. After missing cuts at the South African Open, Abu Dhabi, and Phoenix, he put together rounds of 67-66 to go into the weekend at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in contention. He fell back with rounds of 73-72, but finished T-5th, his first top-five result on the PGA Tour since his runner-up finish at the 2018 Players. After the break, he finished T-3rd at the 3M Open, three strokes behind winner Michael Thompson. Ended the year with a missed cut at the Wyndham Championship.
2021 Notes: Played in 27 PGA Tour events, making 18 cuts with three top-ten finishes. He was 51st in the FedExCup standings. For the first time in nearly two decades as a professional golfer, Schwartzel didn't spend December back home in Vereeniging, South Africa, in 2020 because of travel concerns during the pandemic. So, with him based in Florida, he hadn't seen his family for a year, including his year-old baby son. It gave him more time to work on his game with swing coach David Leadbetter. With partner Louis Oosthuizen, he lost in a playoff at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans to the team of Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith. Marked the fourth runner-up of his PGA Tour career and first since 2018 The Players Championship (T-2nd). With rounds of 65-68-66-68, finished T-3rd at the AT&T Byron Nelson, four shots back of winner K.H. Lee. At the 3M Open shot a final-round 68 to finish T-2nd, two shots back of winner Cameron Champ. In the FedExCup Playoffs, missed the cut at the Northern Trust and T-17th at the BMW Championship.
2022 Notes: Played in 15 PGA Tour events, making 7 cuts with two top-ten finishes. He went into the Masters, missing his last six cuts. With rounds of 72-69 went into the Saturday of the Masters T-2nd and five shots back of leader Scottie Scheffler. He shot 73-74 and finished T-10th, ten shots back of the winner Scheffler. Was T-8th at the AT&T Byron Nelson to finish T-8th, four shots back of winner K.H. Lee. Played in five DP World Tour events, best finish T-10th at the Masters.
2023 Notes: Was T-9th at the Investec South African Open. Was T-12th at the PIF Saudi International, missed the cut at the International Series Oman, and T-13th at the International Series Qatar. Finished T-50th at the Masters and missed the cut at the British Open.