Retief Goosen sets sights on ending Tiger Woods' Masters domination

Apr 13 2008 Euan Mclean In Augusta

HE is the most lucrative each-way bet in Augusta but Retief Goosen won't be happy until the bookies are paying through the nose to ON-the-nose punters.

So often the South African has been the bridesmaid - finishing runner-up twice and tied for third two years in a row - and with every close call the nagging question at the back of Retief's mind gets that little bit louder.

Will he ever end Tiger Woods' domination and be the one standing in that famous Butler Cabin getting helped into a nice new Green Jacket?

He might be the betting man's dream but Goosen's deadpan demeanour suggests he's not one for taking a reckless flutter on anything, especially not his golf.

Which is why the 39-year-old is throwing all his chips into the safest investment he knows has consistently delivered huge dividends over the years - his trusty old Yes C-Groove putter.

It's the same blade he used to bring home two US Open titles in 2001 and 2004, yet it's only recently been restored to his bag after a loss of form during a turbulent season following last year's Masters. In that time his world ranking dropped from his regular spot in and around the top five to an unheard of position outside the top 30.

But this week The Goose made his annual migration to Augusta feeling in good shape and ready to be up there challenging again.

He freely admits he should have more majors - he was fifth at the 2005 Open and blew a two-shot lead at the Pinehurst on the final day of the 2006 US Open.

However, he is confident he is back to his major-winning game once more.

This belief is boosted further by the fact he is one of only four men to finish above world No.1 Woods this year when he tied for second with Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk as Geoff Ogilvy won the CA World Golf Championship at Doral.

He said: "I should have more majors and it's frustrating when you come close.

"Since 2002 I've played well here but last year was disappointing because my putting let me down. I hit the last 10 greens in regulation yet shot one-over.

"It's a matter of getting those few extra putts in that would have won the tournament but I have been feeling good about my putting recently.

"Just two weeks before Doral I changed my style of putting and moved back to the same stroke and even the same putter I'd been using since the beginning of 2001. And I putted well with it at that event.

"I've taken everything back to the way I was in 2002 and 2003."

Another part of Goosen's revival was his decision to go against his principles and start working with a swing coach.

He claimed golf trainers "scared the hell out of him" and preferred to rely on good old-fashioned feel to judge where his swing should be going.

But last year's loss of form and plummet down the rankings had hurt his pride enough to swallow it and call up coach Gregor Jamieson to ask for help. He added: "I was a little bit stuck and I was trying something different every week hoping it would work, which it didn't.

"I was struggling and felt getting somebody to have a look and work on a few things can only improve my putting - well it couldn't get any worse!

"It's not easy going from playing at the top and winning majors to all of a sudden be struggling. It's frustrating.

"You know you can hit the shots but for some reason it's not happening.

"Now I know how hard it is for a guy like David Duval, the way he is struggling, but he is three or four years younger than me so he has time to make the changes he needs to come back.

"I decided to call Gregor because he's not heavily involved with too many other players so he is able to focus more on my swing.

"All we have done is work on one thing on the backswing and it means my wild shots are not as bad any more.

"I'm hitting the ball better and now I've gone back to my old putting set-up I'm holing more on the greens. I'm happy with where my game is."