Goosen heads for US

Retief Goosen will concentrate on gaining a place in the US Tour championships rather than defending his title of European number one.

Goosen led from start to finish to secure victory over Ryder Cup hero Paul McGinley and his second Lancome Trophy title in Paris.

The South African carded a final-round 70 for an 18-under-par total of 266, four shots ahead of McGinley, with England’s Ian Poulter sharing third place alongside France’s Raphael Jacquelin a shot further back.

It was Goosen’s fourth victory in France and the €424,000 first prize gave him an outside chance of topping the Order of Merit for a third successive year.

The 34-year-old still trails compatriot Ernie Els by €1.4m but, with almost €2.1m up for grabs in the next three events, could still have pulled off an unlikely hat-trick.

However, the 2001 US Open champion revealed he was not playing the lucrative Dunhill Links championships, with a first prize of more than €712,000, and will play in America that week instead.

“The Dunhill is a great event and it’s nice to see them put that sort of prize money in, but it’s not a format that suits me,” said Goosen of the pro-am event played over three courses in Scotland.

“Last year at Kingsbarns we played six-and-a-half hour rounds and in that kind of weather, sitting on every tee for 20 minutes, I get stiff too quickly.

“I’ve decided to play in America that week instead to prepare myself for the American Express championships in Atlanta and try to qualify for the US Tour championships.”

Goosen began the day three shots ahead and twice stretched his lead to five only to be pegged back, first by Belgian youngster Nicolas Colsaerts and then McGinley.

McGinley briefly got to within a shot of the lead when he birdied the 11th and Goosen bogeyed, but his playing partner responded in style with birdies at the next two holes, the second from a matter of inches, to edge three ahead again.

That proved decisive and Goosen’s path to victory was sealed when both McGinley and Colsaerts ran up double bogey sevens on the 16th.

“It was tough because I was really struggling all day, especially with my driver,” added Goosen, who was victorious in Paris in 2000 and has also won two French Open titles.

“I was hitting it all over the golf course and used most of the golf course to get it done, but luckily it all turned my way on the 16th.”

McGinley had the consolation of moving to the top of the fledgling Ryder Cup points standings with his second place, although this was only the second counting event in the race to qualify for Bernhard Langer’s European 2004 team.

“I needed to make a birdie on the 16th but my tee shot finished behind a tree and I made seven, and after that I was battling for second, which fortunately I got,” said the Irishman, who holed the winning putt against the United States at The Belfry last September.

“I was up against one of the best players at the top of the game and I finished four behind. He putted magnificently and deserved to win.”