Retief Goosen (born 3 February 1969) is a South African professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions.

He is the son of Theo Goosen, a local real estate agent and amateur golfer who introduced the game of golf to Retief at an early age.

Goosen doesn't remember the events that happened, but his father took his son's survival as a sign from God of good things to come.

He nearly lost his chance at victory after three putting from 12 feet, missing a two foot putt on the final green, but managed to recover to make a playoff with the 1996 PGA Championship winner Mark Brooks.

Goosen won four times on the European Tour between 1996 and 2000, before his breakthrough year in the United States with his 2001 U.S. Open win.

[citation needed] Goosen was in contention in the U.S. Open at Southern Hills Country Club in 2001 all week, and battled Mark Brooks and Stewart Cink during the final round.

[citation needed] Goosen won the European Tour Order of Merit for a second straight year for a season that included a win at the Johnnie Walker Classic by a margin of 8 strokes.

Goosen won the money title in the end by a slim margin over Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke.

[citation needed] Goosen played in the Presidents Cup for the International team where he scored 3 points for the week that ended with a tie because Tiger Woods and Ernie Els were involved in a playoff that was not over at sundown, so captains Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus decided that the 2003 matches would be a draw.

"[6] The final-round scoring average of 78.7 was the second-highest since World War II, with only Goosen and Phil Mickelson finishing under par.

[citation needed] Goosen played in his 3rd Presidents Cup in 2005, at an event where he defeated Tiger Woods in Sunday's singles matches and finished with 4 points.

He held the lead till a bogey on the par-three twelve, Goosen failed to rebound parring each of his six remaining holes.

However, after the Masters Goosen's best finish throughout the rest of the year was a tie for 15th at the BMW Asian Open, and he ended 2007 having slumped down to 26th in the world rankings.

At the start of 2008, Goosen withdrew from the Qatar Masters as defending champion due to problems with his vision after undergoing corrective laser surgery ten days before the tournament began.

Late in the 2008 season Goosen replaced Vijay Singh because of injury in the Asian Tour's Iskandar Johor Open.

Goosen won his second event in four worldwide starts on the Sunshine Tour, at the Africa Open in January, where he came from behind with a final round 65 on Sunday to win by one stroke over four players and take the trophy.

He made only five bogeys all week on the tough Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida.

He shot all four rounds under par, and finished at −8, to win by one stroke over Charles Howell III and Brett Quigley.

[18] This win vaulted Goosen to number 22 in the Official World Golf Ranking, his highest position since November 2007.

With his rededication to his game with his work with his swing coach, his newfound fitness regime and his renewed, refreshed sense of confidence, Goosen dramatically improved his statistics in 2009 from those of the 2007–2008 seasons before.

He pulled out a 3-wood off the first tee, and barely got the ball airborne as Goosen topped it and put it in the right rough, as a couple of grouse scuttled for cover.

Goosen had to sink a nine-foot par putt to extend the playoff but he missed it, giving Green his first PGA Tour victory.

[citation needed] Goosen had another close call at victory during the 2009 FedEx Cup Playoffs at the Deutsche Bank Championship, where he was the 54-hole co-leader with Sean O'Hair and Steve Stricker, but he shot a final round of Even Par to finish T8.

[22] Goosen added 4 consecutive top 10 finishes in October and November; 6th at the Portugal Masters, 3rd at the Iskandar Johor Open, where he shot a third round 62, 9th at the Volvo World Match Play Championship and 10th at the WGC-HSBC Champions.

Goosen added a quarterfinal loss to Camilo Villegas in February at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, his best appearance in the event since 2006.

This injury caused Goosen to miss the BMW PGA Championship, one of the premier events on the European Tour.

Goosen started his 2013 campaign internationally, finishing 20th at the Volvo Golf Champions and missing the cut at the Qatar Masters.

[citation needed] In 2019, Goosen turned 50, started playing on the PGA Tour Champions and was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame.

[29] In March 2022, Goosen won the Hoag Classic on PGA Tour Champions in Newport Beach, California.

Note that there is double counting of money earned (and wins) in the majors and World Golf Championships since they became official events on both tours.