Goosen wins Galleri Classic for first title in 2 years

A championship dry spell came to an end Sunday as South Africa’s Retief Goosen shot a final-round, 3-under 69 to win the Galleri Classic at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Goosen, a World Golf Hall of Famer, has just two victories to his name on the PGA Tour Champions and none since March 2022 at the Hoag Classic. Before that, Goosen won at the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship in 2019. Beyond that, it had been five runner-up finishes and 21 top-five honours, but no other hardware.
Goosen, who finished the tournament at 13-under 203 amid rough, rainy conditions, said he “was just hanging in.”
His drought was in danger of continuing as Goosen went into the final hole tied atop the leaderboard with New Zealand’s Steven Alker, and on his second shot he sent it into the water.
But Alker proceeded to do the same, and Goosen rallied for par while Alker carded a bogey, giving Goosen the win.
Goosen’s day included three birdies and no bogeys, including his par save on No. 18.
“I’m glad it flipped my way,” Goosen said. “Yeah, it was a really bad second shot, the ball a little bit above my feet and the ball was sitting up so nicely. I was in between a 5 (iron) and a 4 and I thought I’ll just hit a smooth 4.”
Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina grabbed the headlines on Saturday with a course-record, 9-under 63 to take a one-stroke lead, but his final-round 1-under 71 left him a stroke shy of a tiebreaker.
He finished in a tie for second with Alker and Germany’s Alex Cejka (4-under 68).