Charl Adriaan Schwartzel ( ; born 31 August 1984) is a South African

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who currently plays in the

LIV Golf Invitational Series LIV Golf () is a professional golf tour financed by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. The name "LIV" refers to the Roman numerals for 54, the score if every hole on a par-72 course were Birdie (golf), birdied ...

and has previously played on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...

and the

Sunshine Tour The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the South African Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the Vod ...

. He has won one

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

title, the Masters in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. Schwartzel's highest

world ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...

has been number six, after finishing in a tie for fourth at the

WGC-Cadillac Championship The WGC Championship was a professional golf tournament that was held between 1999 and 2021. It was one of the three or four annual World Golf Championships until the number of WGC events was reduced to two following the 2021 season. Under sp ...

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Early life and amateur career

Born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, 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. He played for South Africa in the 2002

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eisen ...

Professional career

Schwartzel turned professional at the age of eighteen and following the path of many other leading South African players, he qualified for the European Tour late that year. He was the second youngest South African golfer to do so after

Dale Hayes Dale Hayes (born 1 July 1952) is a South African professional golfer. Career outline Hayes won the 15–17 Boys category at the Junior World Golf Championships in 1969. He turned professional the following year and quickly became a successful p ...

. He earned enough money to retain his European Tour card in both 2003 and 2004. In the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

season he won the Dunhill Championship, a leading tournament in South Africa that is co-sanctioned by the European Tour, and claimed first place on the Sunshine Tour's Order of Merit. In 2005 he finished 52nd on the European Tour's Order of Merit, and in 2005-06 he again topped the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit. His win at the season-ending Vodacom Tour Championship took him into the top 100 in the

Official World Golf Rankings The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

for the first time. His form continued to improve in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and he finished the season placed 18th on the Order of Merit and reached as high as 55th in the World Rankings. He took first place on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit for the third consecutive year in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, and won the

Open de España The Acciona Open de España (formerly the Spanish Open) is the national open golf championship of Spain. It was founded in 1912 and has been part of the European Tour's schedule since the inception of the Tour in 1972. Except for a five-year peri ...

in April, beating

Jyoti Randhawa Jyotinder Singh Randhawa (born 4 May 1972) is an Indian professional golfer. He plays on the Asian Tour where he won eight times between 1998 and 2009. He was ranked in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking several times between 2004 ...

by one stroke, after an eagle at the par-5 16th hole, and moved into the world top 40. Schwartzel has played in the

Gary Player Invitational The Nelson Mandela Invitational was a charity golf tournament which took place annually in South Africa from 2000 until 2006. It was named in honor of former South African President Nelson Mandela, and hosted by South Africa's most successful prof ...

several times to help

Gary Player Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...

raise funds for various children's charities. In 2008, he once again achieved success on the European Tour, by securing victory at the Madrid Masters. After a winless

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

season, Schwartzel started

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

by winning two consecutive tournaments on the

, both held in his native South Africa, and re-entered the top 50 of the

. He finished the season ranked 8th on the Order of Merit. For

, Schwartzel joined the PGA Tour. On 16 January 2011, Schwartzel retained his

Joburg Open The Joburg Open is a men's professional golf tournament that is held in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is an event on the Southern Africa-based Sunshine Tour and co-sanctioned by the European Tour, which attracts a larger prize fund and stronger ...

title winning by four shots.

2011 Masters win

Schwartzel won the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...

by two strokes to become the third South African winner of the event (after

and

Trevor Immelman Trevor John Immelman (born 16 December 1979) is a South African professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and Sunshine Tour. He won his sole major championship at the 2008 Masters Tournament. Early years Immelman was bor ...

). He won exactly 50 years after Player became the first international Masters champion in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

. In the final round, Schwartzel overcame a four stroke deficit with a round of 66, two strokes ahead of runners-up Adam Scott and

Jason Day Jason Day (born 12 November 1987) is an Australian professional golfer, PGA Tour member and winner of the 2015 PGA Championship. He is a former world number one in the World Golf Ranking, having first achieved the ranking in September 2015. ...

Schwartzel started his final round on Sunday by chipping in from off the green at the first hole for birdie and then holed his second shot from the middle of the fairway at the third for eagle. This wiped out the four stroke lead of

Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is the current world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has spent over 100 weeks in tha ...

, but then Schwartzel bogeyed the fourth hole to drop one behind. For the rest of the round he maintained this score, until he reached the last four holes where he holed clutch putts to finish with four consecutive birdies, a feat unprecedented in the Masters' 75 years history. It put him back in the lead and he ultimately won the Green Jacket and his first major championship. After the tournament, Schwartzel moved up to 11th from 29th in the

Post-Masters win career

Alongside his win at The Masters, Schwartzel also enjoyed success in the year's other three major championships in 2011. He recorded career bests at the U.S. Open where he finished in a tie for ninth and also at the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

, finishing tied for 12th. He was also in contention at

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

before a third round 75 damaged his chances. He ended the season ranked 4th on the

Race to Dubai The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...

. On 9 December 2012, Schwartzel won the

Thailand Golf Championship The Thailand Golf Championship was a golf tournament on the Asian Tour. It was played for the first time in December 2011 at the Amata Spring Country Club in Bangkok, Thailand. The purse in 2015 was US$1,000,000. For its whole existence, it was th ...

on the

Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on the tour count for Wor ...

for his first victory since his 2011 Masters win. This was also Schwartzel's first win on the Asian Tour as he cruised to an eleven stroke victory over the field. The following week, Schwartzel won in his native South Africa at the

Alfred Dunhill Championship The Alfred Dunhill Championship is a men's professional golf tournament which is played in South Africa. It is part of the Southern African Sunshine Tour and is one of several events in South Africa that are co-sanctioned by the more prestigious ...

played at Leopard Creek CC. This was Schwartzel's eighth victory on the European Tour, as he secured it with the third highest margin of victory in the history of the tour with a twelve stroke advantage over the Swede

Kristoffer Broberg Kristoffer Per Thomas Broberg (born 1 August 1986) is a Swedish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. Professional career Broberg started his professional career in 2010, winning twice on the Swedish mini tour. The following two y ...

. Schwartzel defended his

in 2013, with a four-stroke win over England's Richard Finch. This took his tally of victories on the European Tour to nine. Schwartzel won his second PGA Tour event, on 13 March 2016, taking the

Valspar Championship The Valspar Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played annually on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, northwest of Tampa, Florida. History The tournament was founded in 2000 as the ...

on the first hole of sudden-death, after tying

Bill Haas William Harlan Haas (born May 24, 1982) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and won the 2011 FedEx Cup. He is the son of former PGA Tour player Jay Haas. Early life Haas was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was r ...

at 277 after 72 holes. On May 31, 2022, it was revealed that Schwartzel would be participating in the first event of the Saudi-backed

LIV Golf LIV Golf () is a professional golf tour financed by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. The name "LIV" refers to the Roman numerals for 54, the score if every hole on a par-72 course were birdied and the number ...

tour. Schwartzel would end up resigning his PGA Tour membership. On June 9, Schwartzel along with 16 others, were suspended by the PGA Tour. Since he resigned his membership before the first event, Schwartzel is no longer eligible to compete in PGA Tour events or the Presidents Cup. In June 2022, Schwartzel won the inaugural

tournament, the LIV Golf Invitational London, by one stroke over Hennie du Plessis. His team, consisting of himself, du Plessis,

Branden Grace Branden John Grace (born 20 May 1988) is a professional golfer from South Africa who currently plays for LIV Golf. He formerly played on the European Tour, the PGA Tour, and the Sunshine Tour. In 2012, he became the first player in the histor ...

and

Louis Oosthuizen Lodewicus Theodorus "Louis" Oosthuizen (; born 1982) is a South African professional golfer who won the 2010 Open Championship. He has finished runner-up in all four major championships: the 2012 Masters Tournament, the 2015 and 2021 U.S. Op ...

, won the team portion of the event by fourteen strokes.

Amateur wins

*2002 Indian Amateur Open Championship (tied),

Brabazon Trophy The English Men's Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship for the Brabazon Trophy is the national amateur stroke play golf championship in England (although entry is open to overseas golfers). It has been played annually since 1947 and is organised ...

, Transvaal Amateur Championship (South Africa)

Professional wins (16)

PGA Tour wins (2)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

European Tour wins (11)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

European Tour playoff record (1–1)

Asian Tour wins (1)

Sunshine Tour wins (9)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

Sunshine Tour playoff record (1–1)

OneAsia Tour wins (1)

LIV Golf Invitational Series wins (1)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

''Results not in chronological order in 2020.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 11 (2009 PGA – 2012 U.S. Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2011 Masters – 2011 U.S. Open)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Cancelled after the first round due to the

Results in World Golf Championships

''Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.'' QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing South Africa):

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

Professional *

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

(representing the International team):

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2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...