After wins in Malaysia in November and his native South Africa in January, Retief Goosen has now triumphed in America as well with only another two weeks to go to The Masters.
The 40-year-old, who had dropped from third in the world to 49th before his revival, made the Transitions Championship in Tampa his seventh PGA Tour success.
Goosen won by a stroke from Americans Charles Howell and Brett Quigley, a closing one-under-par 70 over the demanding Copperhead course at the Innisbrook Resort where he also captured the 2003 Chrysler Championship.
The twice US Open champion is 20 pounds lighter than he was last year, and said: “I feel better now than I’ve felt for a very long time. Probably the last time I was this fit was when I was in the army so I feel pretty good about myself.
“At the beginning of last year I was looking at myself in the mirror thinking I look a bit out of shape. I just thought I might as well try and turn everything around.
“I started working very hard in the gym. I thought that instead of getting totally out of shape and struggling, I might as well be fit and struggling!”
On ending a four-year win drought in the States, he added: “It’s great. Eventually you wonder if you can still do it.”
Asked if he felt he could now regain a place amongst the game’s elite, Goosen stated: “I see no reason (why not). I always keep reminding myself that Vijay (Singh) started playing his best golf when he turned 40, so I’m looking forward to the next five years.”
His win was achieved despite the fact he took out a contact lens after six holes.
“I had my right eye lasered a couple of weeks ago. I started off with a contact lens in the left and it didn’t really help so I’m sort of playing on one eye at the moment.”
Having chipped in for a birdie at nine, a 17-foot eagle putt on the 575-yard 11th proved to be the decisive blow.
From one behind he went one ahead and, although Howell caught him with his third birdie in four holes at the 14th, the Augusta golfer followed with back-to-back bogeys.
Goosen failed to get up and down from sand on the 16th and found dense rough by the 17th green. However, he played a great chip to three feet and then holed from nearly five feet at the 18th after sending a slick 20-footer racing past the cup.
Howell and Quigley both had birdie chances on the last but missed from 25 and 24 feet respectively.
Quigley was also a joint runner-up in Puerto Rico last week and has now played 342 PGA Tour events without a victory.
