"No South African had ever done it," he says of the three-peat. "I had a chance to be part of history. There will be more Match Plays for me."
If Schwartzel can tag on a few more high finishes between now and the PGA Championship, he might even make what is shaping up to be a terrific International team in the Presidents Cup. After the Open he stood 19th on the points list.
"Charl has always been destined to be a great player," says his coach, Pete Cowen, who also works with world No. 7 Henrik Stenson of Sweden. "I first saw him in Durban when he was 15 and playing in the South African Open. At 16 he had a plus-six [six under par] handicap." Says Ricci Roberts, Schwartzel's veteran caddie, who used to loop for Els, "He has a pure swing and a good head on his shoulders. He's quite impressive."
Schwartzel is one of four young South Africans making noise on the European tour this year. The others are Anton Haig, Richard Sterne and Louis Oosthuizen. Haig, 20, is a 6'4" bomber who won the Johnnie Walker Classic in March. Sterne, 25, took the Wales Open earlier this month, while Oosthuizen, also 25, has a pair of fourth-place finishes and is 47th on the European money list. The foursome lives in Manchester, England, and they could be a fivesome soon if Charl's brother, 20-year-old Adriaan, turns pro as expected later this year.
"Anton is 30 yards longer than the other guys and has ridiculous potential," says Chubby Chandler, whose International Sports Management agency represents Schwartzel. "Richard is long, but not as long as Anton, and has a very assured way of doing things. But Charl is the player who's going to get there in the end. They're almost like a rat pack. One steps up and wins, then another, then another. They're growing up together, and they're going up together."
The Manchester Four has an understanding: When one of them wins, he buys dinner for the others. After his victory in Spain — his first win on the European tour — Schwartzel cheaped out by taking his pals to a low-budget Chinese joint. But, he says, "they were nice to me [about it]."
Why not? There figure to be a lot more meals on Charl's tab.
