South African Charl Schwartzel after his win at the 2011 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
Image: Redington/Getty Images/AFP
As a 20-something-year-old Charl Schwartzel didn’t fully grasp his Masters victory back in 2011 and the magnitude of winning one of golf’s most famous majors.
Looking back on it now, the 40-year-old South African, one of three locals to claim the crown at Augusta National with Gary Player and Trevor Immelman, has a newfound perspective of what the tournament means and how it has shaped his career.
Schwartzel, currently in Round-Two of the 2025 edition, is the best-placed South African in the field and still harbours dreams of repeating the feat he achieved in 2011. After a first-round score of +2, it might be out of reach this year, but he won’t stop trying.
Along with his Stinger GC teammates, Schwartzel has been performing well in the LIV Golf Series, bagging the inaugural win in 2022, while most recently he came within inches of winning the LIV Miami tournament a week before the Masters.
Coming back to Augusta, though, is just something special for the South African although he says as a youngster, he maybe took it for granted when claiming the green jacket back in 2011.
“You want to perform, you want to win and there is this self-inflicted pressure, and you don’t enjoy it as much,” Schwartzel said in an interview.
“As the years go on and you mature, I feel you get that deep appreciation for what the Masters is. You talk to peers who played it and never won it, and they are unable to go back, and how they miss Augusta. It makes you realise how fortunate and privileged you are to go there every year.
“It’s one of those very special places in our game.”
Although he gets to return as a champion yearly to the Masters, there is one major the South African still harbours dreams about and that is the British Open.
He’s been around the proverbial block as one of South Africa’s best golfers, but the Open is the one major he still wants to take on. Schwartzel has played a total of 15 Championships but has only made the cut eight times. He is now actively pursuing a ticket to the British major.
“I went and played the South African Open and if I got into the British Open, that would’ve been nice. The main focus is I want to play at The Open at St Andrews (in 2027). So, I will really try to get into that.
“I will have to play some tournaments to qualify, and I will even play the qualifier if I must. For the rest, I have played in a lot of them, and I have sort of done my part. I am very privileged to play at Augusta.”
After finishing 2-over after the first round, Schwartzel fought back during the second day on Friday and finished even par, keeping him at 2-over after two rounds. He was tied for 48th and it should put him inside the projected cut line for the final two days of the tournament over the weekend.