Retief Goosen

Goosen, like his countryman Ernie Els is starting to feel the effects of aging. Like Els, Goosen is hanging in there pretty well, but he just isn't the same player that he was even five years ago. The upside is too limited now to consider Goosen in a salary cap league. As for draft leagues, he's still got the big name, so he'll probably go too early, but if he's around in the 11th round, he's probably worth a look.

Goosen's 2012 season was cut short due to a back injury, but he wasn't exactly tearing it up prior to that anyway. Goosen came into 2012 as a sleeper after winning only $800K in 2011, but obviously fell short. It would seem that Goosen is too talented to earn less than $1 million in any season, but it's possible his skills are just fading with time. Whatever the case, he's deserves one more shot as a sleeper this season. He's not a must-have in salary cap leagues, but he's worth a look. In draft leagues he'll likely go too early because of his name, but he's not worth anything but a late-round draft pick.

When comparing Goosen's 2010 and 2011 seasons, the differences are staggering. The only similarity is the lack of victory or a runner-up finish in either season. The biggest difference is the number of Top-10s, 10 in 2010 and only one last year. Sometimes when a player of Goosen's caliber has such a bad year, you simply have to throw it out. Lower expectations a bit, but as a whole, forget what happened and move on.

Goosen earned more than $3 million last season without benefit of a win or a runner-up finish. How did he do it? Goosen finished 14th on the 2010 money list by being extremely consistent throughout the season. He played only 19 events but finished in the top 10 in more than half of those starts - 10 top-10s and 13 top-25s. What's more, he had only one missed cut the entire season. Goosen's performance in the majors left something to be desired, though. Any improvement at the majors in 2011 would result in a nice jump in earnings, and that's what it comes down to. If Goosen can find some magic at the U.S. Open again, he could jump back up to previous years' earnings. Goosen was statistically sound last season with the exception of GIR where he ranked 133rd.

After a two-year slump in which Goosen failed to crack $2 million in earnings, he easily topped that mark in 2009 by eclipsing the $3-million mark. The problem with Goosen, however, is his schedule. He rarely plays 20 PGA Tour events in a given season, which means that even a great year would might only net him roughly $3.5 million. Goosen should pick up a win somewhere in 2010 and will likely show well at the Masters and the U.S. Open, but don't expect him to significantly increase last year's numbers. Goosen, who finished 2008 ranked 45th, moved up to 19th in the final 2009 Official World Golf Rankings.

Goosen had two good finishes last season. He had one the year prior and a handful the year before that. In all three seasons he's failed to find the winner's circle. He's still got the game to get there which makes him an intriguing selection at this spot. Goosen should not do any worse than he did last year, which also makes him a pretty safe pick. He finished 45th in the final 2008 Official World Golf Rankings.

It's hard to explain why Goosen is this far down on the 2007 money list. Even more difficult is explain how he only earned just over $1 million when half of that came from a runner-up finish at the Masters. 2007 was definitely a throw away year for Goosen. He should easily improve on his numbers in 2008. From 2002-2006 he averaged around $3 million a year in earnings. Even if he's not back to that level, he should crush his 2007 numbers.

Goosen, by his standards, had an off year in 2006. The only time all year when he looked to be himself was leading up to the Masters when he finished second at The Players Championship, fourth at the Bell South and third at the Masters. After that, he fell off the map. Goosen has been one of the top players in the world the last few years and one would imagine that he simply just got in a rut last year. I certainly expect him to do better in 2007. The limited number of events with Goosen is always a concern, but he'll make more out of those events in 2007.

Goosen had a pretty strong season last year. He only teed it up 18 times, but in most cases he made it count. Therein lies the problem with Goosen, though. He always will be committed to playing around the world, so his PGA Tour schedule will be limited. He won one event in 2005 and finished with eight top-10s. That means 50 percent of the time he tees it up on the PGA Tour, he finishes in the top 10. It's usually smart to stay away from players who don't golf much over here because they have to be on their game nearly every time they tee it up. During the "heart" of the season from January through August he played in 14 events. That averages out to less than two events per month. Quite a price tag for a player who plays so little.

At this point in his career, we would have to put him on par with Ernie Els as far as earning potential. Look for Goosen to improve on his driving accuracy (158th), and his earnings should also improve.