Retief Goosen

He started playing golf at age 9 and credits his father for getting him started. Struck by lightning as an amateur in South Africa, he suffered health problems for some time. He also sustained a broken left arm in a skiing accident in Switzerland before the 1999 season.
He was Rookie of the Year on the South African Tour in 1991 and won the 1990 South African Amateur. A long-time joint member of the PGA and European Tours, he joined the PGA Tour after his U.S. Open win in 2001. He led the European Tour Order of Merit in 2001 and 2002. He broke a toe while playing with his children in 2010 and also picked up a hand injury but still earned more than $3 million. Since 2003, he has won $3 million in a year on five separate occasions(2003, 2004, 2005, 2009 and 2010).
He was a member of the 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2011 Presidents Cup teams.
2012 Notes: He made 20 starts on the PGA and European Tour after starting the year with a 3rd-place finish at the Africa Open. He also lost a playoff at the Volvo Golf Champions and only had two top-10s at the Volvo Match Play and U.S. Open. He suffered back pain most of the year and underwent back surgery on August 21 after the PGA Championship.
He returned at the 2013 Volvo Golf Champions and retained his PGA Tour card for the rest of 2013 under a major medical extension with a T-9th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am. He withdrew from the Players with recurring back issues and didn't play on the PGA Tour for the rest of the season.
2014 Notes: He regained form after battling back injuries the last couple of years by making 21 of 26 cuts, with two top-10s, an 8th at the Sony Open in Hawaii, and 7th at the Shell Houston Open. He returned to the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time since 2011, finished T-66th at The Barclays (though he did not advance in the Playoffs), and finished 103rd in the FedExCup standings.
2015 Notes: He opened the year T-3rd at the Frys.com Open, his next top-ten was T-8th at the Northern Trust. Then, his next top-ten came four months later with a T-4th at the BMW International Open, followed by a 6th at the Barracuda Championship. He ended the year 118th in the FedEx Cup standings and 112th on the money list. Qualified for the FedEx Playoffs for the seventh time but did not compete at the first playoff event (The Barclays) due to a family commitment.
2016 Notes: He played in 16 events on the PGA Tour, and he made 5 cuts. His best finish was T-12th at the Players Championship and FedEx St. Jude Classic. Was 144th in the FedExCup rankings. He started the year with a T-4th in the BMW S.A. Open.
2017 Notes: Played in 19 events on the PGA Tour, he made 7 cuts and was in the top-ten once, finishing T-2nd at the Puerto Rico Open, 2 shots back of winner D.A. Points. He ended the year 162nd in the FedExCup rankings.
2018 Notes: Played in 20 PGA Tour events making ten cuts with one top-ten. Was T-6th at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He failed to finish inside the top 125 in the FedExCup standings for a third straight season and advance to the FedExCup Playoffs. He ended the season 153rd in the FedExCup.
2019 Notes: Played in 23 PGA Tour Champions events with 12 top-ten finishes. He was 3rd on the Schwab rankings. He made his first PGA Tour Champions start with a T-24th finish at the Oasis Championship. The following week was T-6th at the Chubb Classic. He was two shots out of the Jimenez/Browne/Langer playoff. He was 4th at the Senior PGA Championship. He went into the final round a shot out of the lead but shot 74 in the final round. Shot a final-round 66 to get into a playoff at the American Family Insurance Championship but was beaten on the third hole of a playoff when Jerry Kelly made a birdie. He won the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship by two shots over Jay Haas and Tim Petrovic. He was T-3rd at the Senior Open Championship, three back of Bernhard Langer. Was T-8th at the Shaw Charity Classic, 6th at the Ally Challenge, and T-7th at the Sanford International. He ended the season with seven top-tens in his last eight events. He was T-3rd at the Invesco QQQ, one shot back of the Montgomerie/Langer playoff. He lost a playoff to Jeff Maggert at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
2020 & 2021 Notes: Played in 35 PGA Tour Champions events with 13 top-ten finishes. He was 7th on the Schwab rankings. He started the season with a final round 64 at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai to finish T-4th, two shots back of the Jimenez/Couples/Els playoff. He was T-2nd at the Ally Challenge, two shots back of winner Jim Furyk. He finished T-4th at the Pure Insurance Championship, three shots back of the Furyk/Kelly playoff. Was T-6th at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic. Birdied his last three holes on the way to shooting 65 at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship to finish T-5th. Shot a final-round 64 at the 2021 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai to finish 2nd two shots back of winner Darren Clarke. Was T-9th at the Insperity Invitational and T-8th at the Regions Tradition. He was T-3rd at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, five shots back of winner Alex Cejka. Finished T-4th at the American Family Insurance, two shots back of winner Jerry Kelly. Shot a final-round 66 at the Dick's Sporting Goods Open to finish T-3rd, two shots back of winner Cameron Beckman. Next week was T-2nd at the U.S. Senior Open, three shots back of winner Jim Furyk. He was T-7th at the Sanford International. Ended his season with a T-20th finish at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
2022 Notes: He played in 18 PGA Tour Champions events with seven top-ten finishes. He was 12th in the Schwab ranking and 12th on the money list earning $1,018,199. He opened the season with a T-6th finish at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. He was 3rd at the Chubb Classic, four shots back of winner Bernhard Langer. With a final round 63, he won the Hoag Classic by three shots over K.J. Choi. He finished T-5th a the Rapiscan System Classic and Insperity Invitational. At the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship was 7th.
2023 Notes: He was 9th at the Trophy Hassan II and T-8th at the Cologuard Classic. With a final round 65, he finished T-3rd at The Galleri Classic, five shots back of the winner David Toms.