Retief Goosen’s spectacular birdie-eagle finish for a one stroke victory in the Commercialbank Qatar Masters has earned him The European Tour Golfer of the Month Award for January.
Standing on the 17th tee in the final round at Doha Golf Club, the South African was two strokes off the lead but he conjured the kind of finish that made him a double Major Champion with a fine birdie on the penultimate hole before a breathtaking 30 foot eagle putt on the par five 18th saw him leapfrog Nick O’Hern of Australia at the summit of the leaderboard to secure the 14th European Tour title of his career.
By winning in Qatar, Goosen extended his streak of consecutive winning seasons on The European Tour to nine. The victory was the two-time US Open Champion’s fourth top five finish from the five events he has played on The 2007 European Tour International Schedule and took him to second place on the Order of Merit with earnings of €594,802.
Goosen took the January award ahead of 2005 Challenge Tour graduate Ariel Canete, who became the first player from Argentina to win a European Tour International Schedule event in South Africa at the Joburg Open.
England’s Paul Casey, The European Tour Golfer of the Year in 2006, was also in the running for the first Golfer of the Month Award of 2007 after securing his eighth European Tour title with a brilliant final round 65 in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, while Vijay Singh’s victory in the US PGA Tour’s Mercedes-Benz Championship and Louis Oosthuizen’s win in the Dimension Data Pro-Am in his native South Africa were also considered for the award.
The Golfer of the Month Award is presented to a European Tour Member each month for his performance on The European Tour International Schedule and in worldwide competition, and at the end of the year the panel will select The European Tour Golfer of the Year.
