Stories · Even the Greats · Simmons Bank Championship week
Retief Goosen's 2001 U.S. Open: Three Putts, Then a Title
By The First 9 Team ·
On the 72nd green of the 2001 U.S. Open at Southern Hills, Retief Goosen needed two putts to win. He took three, missing from about two feet. The next day he came back and won an 18-hole playoff. He was in the field at the 2026 Simmons Bank Championship in Little Rock. The beginner lesson: a miss belongs to the last shot, not the next one.
Even the greats: a long walk off 18
Goosen, from South Africa, had led or shared the lead for much of the week in Tulsa. He reached the final green in two. His first putt ran about two feet past. The short one to win didn't touch the hole and ran by. He holed the next one to finish tied with Mark Brooks.
It was a strange, hard finish for a lot of good players. Stewart Cink, his playing partner, missed a short putt on that same green. Brooks had three-putted 18 earlier. Nobody was immune.
The next day
On Monday, Goosen started shaky, then settled in. He one-putted eight of the first 10 greens and built a five-shot lead with two holes to play. On the 18th, his approach rolled back off the front of the green onto a sandy lie. Instead of trying a fancy chip, he took out his putter and rolled it up the hill. He won by two, 70 to 72.
"It's been a long week," he said. "It seems like I've been here a year."
Three years later, he won the U.S. Open again.
Your first-nine lesson: let the miss go, pick the simple shot
- One miss is one stroke. Mark it, take a breath, and walk to the next tee. The next shot is all that matters.
- Off the green on short grass? Putting is allowed. Goosen's winning plan on 18 was a putter from off the green. Our chipping vs. pitching guide shows when a low, rolling shot is the easy choice, and putting basics covers the stroke.
- Choose the shot you trust, not the one that looks impressive. Simple is a skill.
The First 9 Method (a putter, a 52° and a 56° plus an alignment stick) gives you that choice on every par-3 green: roll it with the putter, or chip it with a wedge.
Goosen teed it up at the 2026 Simmons Bank Championship at Pleasant Valley in Little Rock.
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Related guides and stories
- Chipping vs pitching for beginners
- Putting basics for beginners
- More “even the greats” stories
- Start here
Sources
- The Guardian, "Goosen falters at the last to let in Brooks for play-off," Jun 18, 2001
- UPI, "Goosen wins U.S. Open playoff," Jun 18, 2001
- BBC Sport, "Hole-by-hole: US Open play-off," Jun 18, 2001
- USGA (official), 2004 U.S. Open championship archive
- PGA Tour Champions (official), 2026 Simmons Bank Championship field
Facts are taken from the official and news sources above. Players are named with respect; no player photos or video are used on this page.