Sanford International golf tournament crowns new champion
Posted: September 18, 2025
Goosen breaks Stricker’s winning streak, capping a week of community events and competition
Retief Goosen navigated what was at times a blustery golf course on Sunday afternoon to win the eighth annual Sanford International presented by First Premier Bank, Premier Bankcard and Mastercard.
Goosen, 56, carded consecutive rounds of 65 on Friday and Saturday, then closed with a 67 to finish 13-under-par at Minnehaha Country Club in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. His birdie on the par-5 16th pushed him a stroke ahead of second-place finisher Bo Van Pelt. Pars on 17 and 18 secured the title.
“I’ve come here every year since I turned 50 and it’s been a wonderful event,” Goosen said. “We’ve been well-looked after and the sponsors and the crowd have been amazing.
The food is good, too. I mean, I’ve been eating at the same steakhouse every night and I must say, I’m going to do that again tonight.”
Goosen, who took home $330,000 for winning the event, was the U.S. Open champion in 2001 and 2004 on the regular tour. The South African, who won seven times in all on the regular tour, has now won four PGA Tour Champions titles. This was his first win in 2025.
“I hit a lot of greens,” said Goosen, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2019. “I only missed five greens all week. I chipped-in once and got up-and-down a few times today, too. If you can avoid bogeys and make the birdies, you creep up to the top.”
Goosen’s win stopped Steve Stricker’s streak of three consecutive Sanford International titles. Recent neck surgery kept Stricker out of the tournament this year, setting the stage for a new winner.
Runner-up Van Pelt, who is in his first year as a PGA Tour Champions competitor, started the final round on Sunday tied for second place, a stroke behind four-time major winner Ernie Els. Els opened the final round with three consecutive bogeys, however, and finished in a tie for third with Darren Clarke, who won the International in 2021.
During a festive awards ceremony on the 18th green, Goosen was joined by a crowd of Sanford officials and event sponsors who had watched the tournament. One of them was T. Denny Sanford.
Sanford president and CEO Bill Gassen, while addressing the crowd and thanking supporters of the tournament, said this:
“I’m going to start by saying thank you to the biggest supporter of the Sanford International, the biggest supporter of Sanford Health, the biggest supporter of the state of South Dakota, Denny Sanford, without whom none of this is possible. Thank you, Denny.”
The Greats
The week included “EMC Greats of the Game” that featured golf legends Andy North and Sir Nick Faldo and NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame members Cris Carter and Ronde Barber on Saturday afternoon.
The team of Faldo and Carter won their 9-hole match, which was followed by an extensive autograph session.
Prior to the golf, the four met with the media. During the questions and answers Carter touched on the impact Sanford Health exercise program coordinator Steve Bliss had on him when he was a young college athlete.
Bliss was a strength and conditioning coordinator at Ohio State when Carter was starring for the Buckeyes. Carter, who went on to play 16 seasons in the NFL, intended to play both football and basketball for Ohio State but thought better of it after conversations with Bliss, who supervised his training.
"I immediately went from like 179 pounds to 198 pounds,” Carter said. “He was one of the real people in my life foundationally that gave me a work ethic and let me understand about weightlifting and how to transition into football. … He projected me in places that I couldn’t see myself. Coach Bliss is unbelievable."
Brave Bracelets
Since the tournament began in 2018, the International has given back more than $1.3 million in support of local charities. This year, sisters Blakely, 12, and Gracyn Langner, 8, sold “Brave Bands” to raise money for the Sanford Children's Hospital on the 17th hole at the course.
The sisters, whose mother, Amber, works for Sanford, made 2,000 bracelets in anticipation of their time at the tournament. By late Sunday afternoon, their efforts had led to more than $16,000 in donations.
Ambassador delivers
Emmett Zorr, 14, of Harrisburg, South Dakota, was the 2025 Sanford Children’s Hospital Ambassador and as such was responsible for hitting a ceremonial first tee shot to kick off the tournament.
Zorr has had extensive medical treatments to fight an aggressive form of cancer including chemotherapy, radiation and multiple surgeries since he was 5. While reconstructive surgeries will continue, he has made time to get better at golf.
While no official stats are kept, Zorr’s drive was most likely the longest ever hit by the tournament ambassador.
“He’s been practicing,” his father, Chad Zorr, confirmed while Emmett was fielding compliments for his role in the opening ceremony.
