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.”

He is undoubtedly one of the most phlegmatic sportsmen in the world. You would never have known from his demeanour yesterday that he had double bogeyed the 2nd hole and dropped further shots at the 3rd and 6th to forfeit the advantage he had built up so bravely and creatively on Saturday.

And yet, there are a few things that do get under his skin. On arrival at Pinehurst, he scanned the official programme expecting to see his face on the cover and an article describing his magnificent victory at Shinnecock Hills last year.

Nothing. And when he arrived at the media centre for interview, about fifteen reporters turned up. This was in contrast to the full house an hour earlier for Tiger Woods and almost as many for Phil Mickelson.

Even the power went as Goosen spoke. Typically, he didn’t allow his frustration and annoyance to show but when invited to return to the media centre after his first round 68, he politely declined to do so even if he did answer questions at what is known as the “flash area” just outside the locker-room. However, those misgivings appeared to have been forgotten by Saturday when he stood three under for the championship and as many strokes clear of his nearest rivals Jason Gore and Olin Browne.

“I had lots of time to think about the round and had a good time at home playing with the kids,” he said. “That was fun and I felt pretty relaxed out on the course. I played solid and didn’t put any pressure on my game. I just know that you are quickly going to make bogey, double bogey if you hit the wrong shot.”

A rare smile crosses his South African countenance when Goosen considers the possibility of playing a course like Pinehurst every week. “I think a lot of guys would quit.”

There is a view that Goosen is one of the unfriendliest and least charismatic people in the game but such, in fact, is far from the case. His caddy, Dubliner Colin Byrne, has come to know him probably as well as anyone over the past couple of years and speaks glowingly of him as “the best boss a man could have.” They socialise together from time to time, Goosen offers him “a lift” in his private jet, he completely trusts him on the golf course. They make an impressive couple as they size up their shots and stride the world’s fairways. No sense of humour? Hardly - when Retief finished 2nd to Woods for the 2002 Masters, he wondered aloud whether Augusta National should award him a consolation prize of a green pants.

There are those who disagree. One of Byrne’s predecessors swore that “he doesn’t talk until you pull the string in his back.” Tiger Woods said: “He doesn’t really talk, we played two President’s Cup matches in South Africa and he didn’t say a single word.”

Others point to his wardrobe, invariably shades of beige or dark grey, and he does admit: “I do like to come in under the radar.” He adds quickly: “But we’ve always been sport-oriented in South Africa. Everyone’s trying to beat everyone when they play. That’s how we grew up, it’s in our nature.”

The competitive streak was knocked into him at home in Pietmaritsburg by his father Theo, a real estate agent, a 10 handicap golfer, an Afrikans speaker and by all accounts a hard man. He was the sort who would wake Retief at 6am and tell him that “you’re not going to get any better lying in bed.”

Goosen senior devised a practice contraption that placed a wooden bar against his son’s forehead, preventing his head moving as he swung. Retief now says that’s one of the roots for his exemplary swing mechanics. And yet, as a youngster, he wasn’t just competitive, he could be a bit of a brat.

“Before golf, I played tennis and broke three racquets like matchsticks”, he recalls. “Then I took up golf and remember once breaking three clubs in nine holes.” When that happened, Goosen senior withdrew the pocket money and required Retief to pay for the repairs! At the age of 17 came the well-chronicled clash with lightning and he was left with some hearing loss and cardiac irregularity which he calls a “crack in my heartbeat.”

There is a belief that the incident caused him to become more introvert; Retief himself quips that “it just taught me to get off the course sooner when there’s lightning around.”

He and Ernie Els joined the army at the same time and when they travelled to golf tournaments, Els sat in the back of the bus drinking beer with his friends and Goosen was the designated driver. “I wasn’t a drinker at all, I was the only one sober.”

A lot has changed, even to the extent of Goosen lining up endorsements with liquor companies! Earlier this year, the alliance between Goosen and Grey Goose vodka was forged. He quaffed a few cocktails at the announcement party, missed his 6. 40am pro-am starting time the following day and was disqualified!