Retief Goosen was once a fixture in the final leaderboard at the Masters. He has finished inside the top three on four occasions and inside the top 20 three times. He has not come close to donning the famous green jacket since being edged out by two strokes by Zach Johnson in 2007 and is perhaps on the terminal slide that some of the other ‘big five’ of the last decade are experiencing, to varying degrees.
Tiger Woods might well win another major, but Goosen, like Ernie Els and Vijay Singh, will probably not. He has won just two PGA and European tour events since 2005, slipping down both money lists and world rankings to the point that he is an outsider in the golf betting odds for Augusta, despite being ranked 19th in the world.
Goosen produced steady top-20 performances at three events earlier in the year but has struggled since his first round exit in the WGC-Accenture Matchplay. He only just made the cut at the Shell Houston Open last week after carding a disappointing second round 74.
Close analysis of the Iceman’s statistics this season suggest neither his driving or putting will stand up to the rigours of Augusta – he is ranked outside the PGA top 100 for driving accuracy and distance and 95th for putting – and he might well need his ability out of bunkers that sees him top the list for sand saves.
Goosen might well have some decent major performances left in him, but it seems unlikely that one will be produced this week.