U.S. Open

In 2001 Retief secured his first Major win, The US Open at Tulsa. He followed this up in 2004 by winning his second Major and second US Open winning at Shinnecock Hills.

In 2001 Retief finished on a total of -4 with rounds of 66-70-69-71 to tie with Mark Brooks. Missing a short put on the 18th to win the title outright, Retief came back the following day to win an 18 hole playoff with Brooks to win by two shots.
Retief who had shared or held the lead outright after each round of the Championship, became the third South African to win the US Open trophy following in the footsteps of Gary Player (1965) and Ernie Els (1994 and 1997).

In 2004 at Shinnecock Hills Retief claimed his second U.S. Open title in four years, winning by two strokes over Phil Mickelson. Goosen and Mickelson were the only players to finish under par for the championship on a demanding course that challenged every aspect of the players' games.

Entering the final round with a two-stoke lead over Mickelson and two-time U.S. Open champion Ernie Els, Retief finished with a 1-over-par 71 for a 4-under total of 276.