A look at the 20 top players in the world of Golf today: Charl Schwartzel
Charl Schwartzel was born on 31st August 1984 in Johannesburg South Africa. Schwartzel inherited golf from his family, his father George was a very good player at amateur level. His brother caddied for him on various occasions and has a good
pedigree of his own game.
Schwartzel had a dominant junior amateur career in South Africa, and won some amateur events in other countries including the 2002 Indian Amateur and English Open Stroke Play Championships. After winning several amateur tournaments Schwartzel decided that
he was ready enough for the big stage and turned professional at the young age of only 18.
Like other leading South African players, Schwartzel also qualified for the European Tour and became the youngest South African golfer to do so after Dale Hayes. This allowed him to earn enough money to retain his European Tour card in 2003-04.
The 2004 season started with a win at the Dunhill Championship, where Schwartzel was leading the tournament, and he won the Sunshine Tour’s Order Merit as well.
In the year 2005 Schwartzel finished 52nd on the European Tour’s Order of Merit and again claimed the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit. The same year he won the Vodacom Tour Championship which took him into the top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings
(OWGR).
Schwartzel kept his good form into the 2006 season and finished placed 18th on the Order of Merit and moved to 55th rank in the OWGR.
2009 was not such a good season for Schwartzel, he was not able to record a single win, but he started 2010 racking up two back to back wins on the European Tour, held in his native country South Africa. He finished the season placed at 8th in
the Order of Merit.
2011 season saw Schwartzel become accustomed to his winning ways; he won the 75th Masters Tournament by only two strokes and became South Africa’s only third player to win the event after Trevor Immelman and Gary Player. Schwartzel removed a four
stroke deficit with a round of 66, winning by only two strokes over Jason Day and Adam Scott. Schwartzel was 4 strokes behind Rory McIlroy which he wiped out by chipping in from the green for the birdie and followed it up with an eagle. He then shot a bogey
at the fourth hole. He finished it with four birdies in a row claiming the Green Jacket and his first Major Championship. The win moved Schwartzel to 11th in the OWGR.
The season had not ended yet and there were and three other majors needed to be played, Schwartzel recorded his career best at the US Open finishing in a tie for ninth and made a career high tied for 12th at the PGA Championship. Schwartzel did
not have a good start to the Open Championship and lost contention for a win.
The South African at age 26 is still very young and has a long way to go, he has achieved so much at such a young age, all he would need to do is to keep up his focus and hard work and the results would come sooner than later.
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