Goosen Grabs French Open Title

May 6, 1999 / 9:51 PM EDT / AP

Retief Goosen, a South African who broke his arm in a skiing accident in January, won the French Open on Sunday by beating New Zealand's Greg Turner on the second playoff hole.

Goosen lost a three-stroke lead in the last four holes, with Turner making three consecutive birdies starting at No. 14. Turner could have won in regulation but was short on a 25-foot birdie putt on No. 18.

"I struggled when I came back," said Goosen, who was sidelined for two months after the mishap in Switzerland. "So it's nice when you prove you can pull out a close win like this one."

This was the second French Open title for Goosen.

"There's no way I can compare this with my 1997 win," he said. "Then I had a five-shot lead on the last hole."

Goosen and Turner were tied at 12-under 272 after regulation on the Medoc course. Goosen saved par on the first playoff hole with a great sand save and blasted out close to the flag on the next hole.

On the second extra hole, Turner drove into rough and missed from 8 feet for a bogey.

"I was lucky to close it out in the playoff," Goosen said.

His $148,750 victory check pulled him into fourth place on the European money list. Turner earned $99,000.

Spain's Santiago Luna (69) shared third with Argentina's Jose Coceres (71) at 275. Ian Woosnam shot 71 to finish in a threeway tie for fifth at 276.

France's Marc Farry, who shared the third-round lead, closed with a 75. He had a quadruple-bogey 7 on the fifth hole and finished at 277.