Charl Adriaan Schwartzel (born 31 August 1984) is a South African golfer who plays on the European Tour and the Sunshine Tour.

Charl has a longstanding relationship with the Zorgvliet Group of Companies. As one of his first sponsors, we still feel that Charl is one of the family.

Charl Schwartzel was born in Vereeniging. He had a dominant junior amateur career in South Africa, also winning some amateur events overseas, and he played for his country in the 2002 Eisenhower Trophy. He then turned professional at the age of eighteen, and following the path of many other leading South African golfers he qualified for the European Tour late that year. He was then the second youngest South African golfer to do so after Dale Hayes. He earned enough money to retain his European Tour card in both 2003 and 2004.

In the 2004/05 season his career moved up a notch, with victory in the Dunhill Championship, a leading tournament in South Africa which is co-sanctioned by the European Tour, and first place on the Sunshine Tour's Order of Merit. In 2005 he finished 52nd on the European Tour's Order of Merit – excellent for a twenty-one year old – and in 2005-06 he again topped the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit. His win at the season ending Vodacom Tour Championship took him into the top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time. His form continued to improve in 2006 and he finished the season placed 18th on the Order of Merit and reached as high as 57th in the World Rankings. Every higher ranked golfer at that time was at least two years older than him. Winning his third order of merit is a great achievement. He became only the second player ever to win three consecutive Sunshine Tour Order of Merit titles. Charl will thus have another crack at the Nedbank Challenge later this year!

Charl loves the outdoors. He finds strength in nature and appreciates the African Bushveld as a breakaway destination. On the golf course, Charl becomes a ‘killing machine’ like an African leopard. Confidence in his own abilities and strong belief in what he can do.

During one of his visits to Ka’Ingo Private Reserve & Spa, he was playing what was supposed to be a friendly game between friends. But old friends want to know how good a true professional really is. The Lephalale golf course with its Bushveld layout was the venue of this encounter. The 17th 530-meter par five monster with huge trees guarding the fairway is an amateur’s nightmare. The previous night around the fire Ben Botes challenged Charl that he won’t be able to birdie this specific hole that day. Charl accepted the challenge and made it clear that he is confident that he will be able to do just that. His tee shot was a booming 290 meters – “ideally placed”, he said. None of the other players understood his logic as there were numerous huge trees and a dog leg to the left between Charl and the green. After a process of contemplating Charl took out his 2 iron and launched an unbelievable shot to the green. As he planned the ball pitched just short of the elevated green and ended up three meters from the hole! He missed the eagle putt… His 62 for the day gave his playing partners an insight in the skills and attitude of a professional golfer.

Yes, Charl’s feet are still firmly on the ground, willing to have a fun game of golf with the amateurs and old friends. According to his father George, Charl inherited his temperament from his mother’s side of the family.
“Traveling and playing abroad can be very demanding. Not only missing your loved ones but missing your ‘braaivleis’ is a big adjustment,” says Charl.
Charl has recently started flying and already got his Private Pilot License. “Flying is another way of freeing your mind from the stress associated with being a professional golfer,” he is to modest to say, but one can expect that in time to come Charl will, like most of the top players, buy his own private jet and possibly do some flying as well.
His focused approached and dedication is an example for many other young people. The golfing world is also waiting for the next Schwartzel as Charl’s younger brother Attie is making his name as an amateur with loads of talent. Maybe in years to come, South Africa will have two brothers chasing top honors in the world of golf.