Goosen takes his place in ‘Fab Five’

IT isn’t easy for a foreigner to be inducted into the pantheon of great sportsmen in the United States. In golfing terms, you have to be winning tournaments and championships as frequently as Vijay Singh does.

Once again this week, South Africa’s Retief Goosen learned at first hand that being the current holder of the US Open having previously captured it in 2001 cut little or no ice with the American public and media alike.

However, after his exploits here at Pinehurst, where he played beautifully for three days when all around were falling by the wayside, Goosen looked a class apart. True, his jangled nerves played tricks with his game in the final round yesterday when he conceded the lead to fellow antipodean, Michael Campbell. But even his harshest critics must accept that Goosen has earned his place alongside the game’s greats and that the “fab four” of Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els and Phil Mickeson must be increased by one to form the “fab five.”