Goosen relegated to Fifth Beatle status
Updated: November 8, 2005, 5:00 PM ET
By Jason Sobel | ESPN.com
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Other than Tiger Woods, only one man has won multiple U.S. Open championships in this decade.
And yet, Retief Goosen can't crack golf's supposed Big Four.
Goosen is 5 under through the first two rounds at Sawgrass.
Perhaps it's because he exudes neither the ebullience of Woods nor the notoriety of Vijay Singh, the insouciance of Ernie Els or the popularity of Phil Mickelson.
In fact, you could pass the world's fifth-ranked player on the street and never say a word. And you know what? Neither would he.
An unusually stoic and stolid South African, Goosen merely goes about his business with as little fanfare as possible.
And business is booming.
On Saturday, he shot a 2-under 70 to move to 5 under overall and remain in contention at The Players Championship. This season, he has already earned more than $1 million, thanks to top-10 finishes in each of his last three starts. And for his career, he owns 22 international victories, including tour wins in four straight seasons entering 2005, a mark only Woods can match.
"It's your problem if you overlook me," Goosen says with a laugh. "I'm quite happy to go home and relax and not [speak with] the media. Yeah, I think, like I say, I just need to maybe come up a little notch to be more recognized."
Goosen has risen plenty of notches throughout his career. His first win on U.S. soil came in the 2001 U.S. Open at Southern Hills, where he outlasted Mark Brooks in an 18-hole Monday playoff. Last June, he was the sole player to tame wild Shinnecock Hills, earning his second Open victory in four years. And he pulled off the previously unimaginable in November, coming from behind to defeat Woods in the Tour Championship.
"You always hear about the Big Four," Woods said earlier this year. "What about Goose? It's funny. It's funny to me."
Tiger just may be onto something. Why are they called the Big Four? Why not the Fab Five?
"I'm not really all that bothered about it," Goosen says, "I go out there to play my game and hopefully at the end of the week I win a tournament and that will take care of itself."
Instead, Goosen has been relegated to Fifth Beatle status, an outsider in the quartet of superstars.
Is there a better analogy?
Woods is the John Lennon of the group, the impervious frontman whose image is known worldwide.
Mickelson is Paul McCartney, an enduring star to his devoted, adoring fans.
Els is George Harrison, coolly looking the part, while remaining solid as a rock.
Singh is Ringo Starr, slightly aloof but deserving of more credit than he ever receives.
And yet Goosen remains somewhat anonymous, a classical musician in a world of rock stars.
Certainly it's not for lack of talent on Goosen's part; in fact, he was the fourth-ranked player in the world just two months ago. When Mickelson passed him to claim that spot in the World Ranking, well, it was as if Goosen had never been there in the first place.
So for now Goosen resides in golf's purgatory. He's not quite considered part of the top level of players, yet doesn't belong in the second tier with non-major winners such as Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott and Stewart Cink.
Not that Goosen seems to care all that much.
"I need to win a few more tournaments and a few big ones, I think, to really put my name up there," he says.
Or maybe we just need to realize what he's already accomplished. And put his name up there with the Big Four right now.
Jason Sobel is ESPN.com's golf editor. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com
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