[3] Schwartzel turned professional at the age of eighteen and following the path of many other leading South African players, he qualified for the European Tour late that year.

His win at the season-ending Vodacom Tour Championship took him into the top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time.

[5][6] His form continued to improve in 2006 and he finished the season placed 18th on the Order of Merit and reached as high as 55th in the World Rankings.

[7] He took first place on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit for the third consecutive year in 2007, and won the Open de España in April, beating Jyoti Randhawa by one stroke, after an eagle at the 543-yard (497 m) par-5 16th hole,[8] and moved into the world top 40.

[citation needed] After a winless 2009 season, Schwartzel started 2010 by winning two consecutive tournaments on the European Tour, both held in his native South Africa, and re-entered the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings.

[13] Schwartzel won the Masters Tournament in 2011 by two strokes to become the third South African winner of the event (after Gary Player and Trevor Immelman).

[citation needed] On 9 December 2012, Schwartzel won the Thailand Golf Championship on the Asian Tour for his first victory since his 2011 Masters win.

[16] The following week, Schwartzel won in his native South Africa at the Alfred Dunhill Championship played at Leopard Creek CC.

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = tied Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.