Retief Goosen, who won the first of his two U.S. Opens at Southern Hills in 2001, said his game isn’t in great shape as he readies to take on Southern Hills again. As Phil Mickelson showed us a week ago at Kiawah Island at the PGA Championship, you never know when form will show up.
“It’s always nice coming back to places you won on,” Goosen said. “Obviously a lot of changes since 2007, but good memories. “It took me five rounds … but yeah, at the end we got the win and that was the most important thing. It opened a lot of doors, that’s for sure."
“For me, it was obviously the nerves that stood out. Your first big-time show. I remember the weekend I putted well, and when you putt well, you have a chance to win. Putting was great that week. I love the course, love the way it felt for me, and hopefully I can feed off that this week.”
Goosen’s lone victory on the PGA Tour Champions was a major, as he captured the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship in 2019, leading to a third-place finish in the Schwab Cup rankings. He was fourth in 2019 at Oak Hill in his lone Senior PGA appearance. Goosen did post top-10 finishes in two of his last three starts, so his form does not appear to be that far off.
“We keep working away,” he said. “Sometimes it just takes something to click and you feel comfortable out there. And suddenly you get into a good rhythm. I need to find a good rhythm and consistency."
“I hope this week brings back a lot of memories. A lot of holes have completely changed, so it’s a total different look. There are a few completely new greens. But at least you know you can do it around this place.”
