Retief Goosen (born February 3, 1969) is a South African professional golfer.
Goosen was born in Pietersburg (now Polokwane), South Africa. His amateur career was briefly interrupted when he was struck by lightning at the age of 16. He turned professional in 1990, following a win in the South African Amateur Championship of the same year. His main achievements since have been two US Open wins (in 2001 and 2004), and heading the European Tour Order of Merit (money list) in 2001 and 2002. A videotape of his 2001 U.S. Open win was produced by NBC Sports and the USGA, the cover of which is shown to the right.
Since 1995, Goosen has been one of the most consistent players in the world: he's won internationally every year since 1995, and he's won a PGA TOUR event every year since 2001. Additionally, he has spent a long period of time in the top 5 of the Official World Golf Rankings, and in 2006 he reached third place.
Goosen is known for his extremely calm demeanor, a trait that has earned him the nickname "The Iceman" on the U.S. PGA TOUR. He further enhanced his reputation as a steely competitor at the 2004 U.S. Open, where he mastered Shinnecock Hills' (arguably unfair) course setup, draining clutch putt after clutch putt on the course's super-fast greens.
PGA TOUR wins
- 2001 U.S. Open
- 2002 BellSouth Classic
- 2003 Chrysler Championship
- 2004 U.S. Open, The Tour Championship
- 2005 The International
Major championships are shown in bold.
European Tour wins
- 1996 Slaley Hall Northumberland Challenge
- 1997 Peugeot Open de France
- 1999 Novotel Perrier Open de France
- 2000 Trophée Lancôme
- 2001 U.S. Open, The Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, Telefonica Open de Madrid
- 2002 Johnnie Walker Classic
- 2003 Trophée Lancôme
- 2004 U.S. Open, Smurfit European Open
- 2005 Linde German Masters
- 2006 South African Open (played in December 2005)
Goosen's two U.S. Open wins are repeated here because the three major championships played in the U.S. have been part of the European Tour's schedule since 1998.
Other Victories
- 1991 Iscor Newcastle Classic
- 1992 Spoornet Classic, Bushveld Classic, Witbank Classic
- 1993 Mount Edgecombe Trophy
- 1995 Phillips South African Open
- 2002 Dimension Data Pro-Am
- 2003 Tiger Skins Game
- 2004 Nedbank Golf Challenge
- 2005 Volvo Masters-China (Asian Tour)
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | T40 | CUT | 2 | T13 | T13 | T3 | T3 |
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | CUT | T12 | 1 | CUT | T42 | 1 | T11 | |
| British Open | CUT | DNP | DNP | 75 | T10 | CUT | T10 | T41 | T13 | T8 | T10 | T7 | T5 | |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T61 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T37 | T23 | CUT | DNP | T6 |
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Team appearances
Alfred Dunhill Cup
1995, 1996, 1997 (winners), 1998 (winners), 1999, 2000
World Cup
1993, 1995, 2000, 2001 (winners)
Presidents Cup
2000, 2003 (Draw), 2005