Retief Goosen

The 2001 & 2004 US Open Champion Retief Goosen is one of the best golfers of his generation and is a truly global professional. He has gone on to create a couple of "Major" wins in the world of wine from his own vines and winery in South Africa, with a series of wonderfully handcrafted wines.

After adding the 2000 Tropheé Lancôme to his list of wins, 2001 was Retief's most successful year to date. In a dramatic 18 hole play-off he won the 2001 US Open by 2 shots. This first Major victory spurred him on to win The Scottish Open at Loch Lomond and then win his third European Tour victory of the season at the Telefonica Open de Madrid. He and Ernie Els finished off the year in style by taking the World Cup in Japan for South Africa in a play-off with Denmark. This outstanding year was concluded when he was crowned 2001 European Tour Order of Merit Champion, winning the Harry Vardon Trophy, and moving into the top 10 of the World Rankings for the first time.

In the 2002 and 2003 seasons Retief notched up a further 5 wins across both the PGA, European and South African tours. 2004 saw Retief win his second US Open title at Shinnecock Hills in dramatic style Two weeks later Retief was back in the winning circle by taking The European Open title at the K Club in Ireland. At the end of the PGA Tour season Retief won The Tour Championship by 4 shots from Tiger Woods. Retief finished the 2004 season in style at Sun City in South Africa where he won the Nedbank Golf Challenge by 6 shots. Multiple wins followed in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009 and 2010 was a quiet year with regards to victories but his consistent play allowed him to finish 10th on the PGA Tour FedEx Standings.

The 2011 season saw Retief pick up a few minor injuries which forced him away from playing a couple of tournaments during the course of the year, and these injuries carried through to 2012 when his back caused him to withdraw from a number of events, early on in the year but he also had some great results with a few top 10 finishes mid-way through the year. However, in August 2012, Retief had to have a back operation and unfortunately in May of 2013 another injury stopped Retief from playing but he is back in action and is now feeling confident and comfortable on the course.

‘The Goose’ wines are from the Upper Langkloof Appellation, it is arguably the coolest wine growing region in South Africa. These extreme climatic conditions ensure complexity of fruit and unique grapes that are handcrafted into world-class wines. After hand harvesting the grapes they are transported to cool-rooms, where the temperature is maintained at 4 degrees Celsius for twelve hours to cool the grapes.