'Biggest piece of ...': Retief Goosen reveals first thoughts of St Andrews - and why they have changed

Like lots of others, though, it quickly grew on the South African and now he’s hoping to be back there next summer to play in The 155th Open. The winner of next month’s ISPS Handa Senior Open at Gleneagles secures an exemption for the main Claret Jug event, and Goosen has his eyes on that prize.

“I love St Andrews - it’s one of my favourite places,” he told The Scotsman, sitting in a Rolex hospitality suite at Shinnecock Hills, where the 2004 US Open winner was back for a flying visit at this week’s 126th edition. “When I played St Andrews for the first time as an amateur when I was 18 in the Links Trophy, I was hitting the ball like this (gesturing that he had a high ball flight).

“The first time I played it, I thought it was the biggest piece of crap I’ve ever seen in my life. You can’t see anything, you can’t spin a ball back. If you hit it in a bush, you’ve got to go backwards. I struggled that week as that was the first time I’d experience proper links golf and the wind was howling. I was hitting 1-iron like this (low) to try and keep it under the wind.

“But, as you play it more and more and realise the history behind it all and the champions and golfers in general who have hit shots around that place, it is now one of my favourite places.”

The ISPS Handa Senior Open is being played on the King’s Course at Gleneagles for a second time, with Darren Clarke having come out on top in the 2022 edition. “I played, but I felt like a dog on the weekend,” recalled Goosen of Covid symptoms still being an issue at the time.

“Back then, you didn’t talk to anyone really or shake hands. I didn’t feel that great and now I’m looking forward to going back there and feeling a bit better. Who knows? Hopefully I can pull it off there and get into the real big Open.”

Goosen already has a tartan triumph under his belt, having landed the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond in 2001, when, helped by an opening 62, he won by three shots from Thomas Bjorn in a field that also included the likes of John Daly, Adam Scott, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle and Colin Montgomerie.

“Yeah, I love that course,” he admitted, smiling. “I shot ten under twice around that course and won it once and finished third once. This looks more like a Scottish golf course than Loch Lomond does (laughing). You look out there and think I could be somewhere in Scotland. Loch Lomond is a great parkland course. I love that place and anything that has Open in the title is going to be a tough field.”

Goosen is a two-time US Open champion, having landed the first of his victories at Southern Hills in 2001 before reclaiming the title three years later at Shinnecock Hills, where he finished two shots ahead of Phil Mickelson as they both joined Ray Floyd, the 1986 winner, as the only players to finish under par in the US Open at the Long Island venue.

“Yeah, it is great coming back to a place where you’ve won,” admitted Goosen, who is commemorating 25 years as a Rolex Testimonee. “I would love to have been inside the ropes this week, that’s for sure. I was thinking about pre-qualifying but then I thought ‘no, I’ve got too many other things going on’. I’ve been there, done that. But now I’m sort of regretting that I didn’t try. Yeah, great memories obviously. I don’t remember all the shots - just the good ones (laughing).”

Incredibly, he had 11 single putts in the final round and 24 in total. In the eyes of Padraig Harrington, it was “probably one of the best putting rounds ever in golf”.

Told about that, Goosen admitted it was a huge compliment. “Oh, yeah, very much from a guy who’s won three majors,” he said. “I putted well at Southern Hills, too. I made a lot of good putts there to win it. I mean, you are going to look at the guy who wins this week will have made the putts at the right time.”

Speaking at Shinnecock Hills, Harrington also commented on Goosen’s mindset, reckoning he was better than anyone else at that time when it came to getting over a bad shot or bad hole.

“At the time, I did have a good mindset, yeah. Now, 22 years on, I don’t know if I have the same patience anymore,” he said, laughing. “At that time, I was working hard on the mental side off the course with a psychologist and really played some great golf over a four-to-five year period.

Everybody on the range hits it 300 yards and the one guy shots 74 and the other one shoots 64. Somewhere there’s got to be a mental thing to it and all the greatest players in the world have had great minds.”

Who does he think will join him as a US Open winner at Shinnecock Hills on Sunday? “I’m leaning towards a lower ball-flighted guy, somebody who can really knock it down. The likes of Brooks Koepka and Gary Woodland can really hit it low. Rory McIlroy as well. At the beginning of the week, the guy that seemed to have a lot of patience lately and playing really well is Cameron Young.”

Is there a player today who reminds Goosen of himself? “Well, Cameron Young, I think. He’s a nice guy and whatever but, on the course, it’s golf. He gets in his bubble and gets on with it.”