The Board of Directors of The European Tour is pleased to announce that Retief Goosen has been accorded Honorary Life Membership of The European Tour in recognition of his outstanding achievements, including his memorable victory in the 2001 US Open Championship which went a long way towards him capturing the Volvo Order of Merit.
Goosen, aged 33, recently embarked on his tenth season on The European Tour, having won the Qualifying School Finals in 1992. Since then he has competed in 227 events on The European Tour International Schedule, winning eight times. He has recorded, in total, 59 top ten finishes which have helped him amass winnings of 6,765,265 euro (£4,427,323).
Neil Coles, Chairman of The European Tour Board of Directors, said: “The Board Members offer their congratulations to Retief. His victories in the US Open Championship in 2001, along with wins in The Scottish Open at Loch Lomond and Telefonica Open de Madrid, provided superb evidence of his ability to play golf at the highest level.
“Retief displayed great courage to win the 18 hole play-off against Mark Brooks at Southern Hills CC, having missed the opportunity to claim the title on the 72nd green the previous day. We are delighted to award him Honorary Life Membership and wish him continued success in the future.”
Goosen achieved his breakthrough on The European Tour International Schedule in 1996, landing the Slaley Hall Northumberland Challenge. He then went on to win three titles on French soil – the Peugeot Open de France in 1997, the Novotel Perrier Open de France in 1999 and the 2000 Trophée Lancôme.
His first title of the 2001 season came in the United States, when he followed his close friend and countrymen, Ernie Els, as one of the few non-Americans to win the US Open Championship, leading all the way in the process. Goosen also completed a wire-to-wire victory in The Scottish Open at Loch Lomond then rounded off a superb season by capturing the Telefonica Open de Madrid after a play-off.
He ended the year on another high, partnering Els to a South African success in the World Golf Championships-EMC2 World Cup in Japan, then launched his 2002 campaign in style, breaking the course record for Lake Karrinyup CC in Perth with a third round 63 on his way to winning the Johnnie Walker Classic last month to move to a career-best seventh on the Official World Golf Ranking.
Goosen then completed a remarkable double in the space of eight days by winning the Dimension Data Pro-Am in his native South Africa, his first success on home soil since taking the South African Open in 1995.
Goosen said: “I am delighted to receive Honorary Life Membership of The European Tour. I have always enjoyed playing on The European Tour and it was a wonderful feeling to win the Volvo Order of Merit for the first – but hopefully not the last – time in 2001.
“I have always felt very much at home in Europe and, of course, my wife Tracy is English and we have a home close to The European Tour headquarters at Wentworth. We have many great friends on this Tour and the competition at the moment has never been tougher. I am grateful to the Board of The European Tour for this honour, which I will always cherish.”
Ken Schofield, Executive Director of The European Tour, said: “Retief’’s outstanding record in 2001 speaks volumes for his ability to play world class golf on the international stage.
“Moreover, the manner in which he won the play-off to capture his first Major Championship at Southern Hills CC showed that he possesses the courage of a true champion. We are delighted that he has accepted this Honorary Life Membership.”
