KUALA LUMPUR: After a marathon trip across the globe, US Masters champion Charl Schwartzel is looking forward to getting home to South Africa and finally watching a replay of his stunning victory to help it all sink in. The South African birdied the last four holes at Augusta National to shoot a six-under-par 66 and overturn a four-shot deficit to Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and win his first major title. Since Sunday, the softly spoken champion has completed a host of media requests and flown 25 hours across the world to compete in the Malaysian Open meaning he has only been able to see a replay of his final shot. “I do realize I am the Masters champion it's just still not quite real to me,” Schwartzel told Reuters in an interview at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club after arriving Wednesday. “Everything has happened so quickly and we have travelled a long way and just been so busy that once I have sat down in a week or so it will all sort of sink in. “I have only seen the putt on 18, I haven't seen any of the round. I would like to sit down on my own and have a quite night and watch it.” Schwartzel grew up on a chicken farm just outside Johannesburg and was taught to play golf by his father. He said he had spoken with his dad at length but that the success had left him a man in demand. “It's so overwhelming. There is just so many things going on right now.” Before the final round at Augusta, few people had tipped the South African to win his first major but he held his nerve to produced a flawless final-round as his rivals failed to keep pace. “I like playing in contention,” said Schwartzel, who had won six times previously on the European Tour. “I focus better. I get all my emotions better under control. The Masters is obviously different to other tournaments but yet I felt very, very in control and I'm quite proud of myself for that.” The prize for keeping his cool was getting to wear the coveted Green Jacket, worn by his compatriots Gary Player and Trevor Immelman previously, which he said covered his shoulders for most of Sunday evening. “It is weird what you will do for just a jacket,” the jovial character smirked from under his visor. “It's such a good feeling. I wore it just about the whole night. I wore it on the plane for a while but it got a little hot at one stage so I had to take it off,” he said with a grin. Accompanying him on the three-flights from Georgia to Malaysia was his friend McIlroy and the pair talked about the Northern Irishman's final-round 80 which opened the door to Schwartzel's success. “Rory took it so well, obviously he must be hurting a little bit deep down inside the way he took it was the mark of a true champion. He is such a good player and he will be back on his feet soon and winning golf tournaments.” Schwartzel, who said he really enjoyed playing in hot conditions when asked if the humidity would affect him this week, was also buoyed by the news that South Africa would host their first World Golf Championship event from next year. “In South Africa we have such good golf courses and so many good players coming... I think there is no better place to have a World Golf event than in South Africa. It's nice to see more tournaments coming to South Africa.” It's all in the mind Schwartzel's biggest asset is the unhurried and clear-thinking way he plots his way around the golf course, his swing guru said. “Charl's big talent is in his mind,” Hendrik Buhrmann told Reuters. “He was not at all rushed in that final round at Augusta Sunday, even after he had won you heard how slowly he spoke. “He was also hitting the ball with beautiful balance and control, it was lovely to watch.” Buhrmann, 47, has been a player on the Sunshine and Asian tours for 25 years but will now be known as the man who fine-tuned Schwartzel's swing in the run-up to his two-shot win at the Masters. The 26-year-old was struggling with his action before the Joburg Open in January and called Buhrmann for help on the eve of the tournament. “Having a chat with Hendrik made all the difference,” said Schwartzel after winning the European Tour event in Johannesburg. “My swing had not been good for quite a while but I phoned Hendrik and said I needed him. “He came out and gave me some really good advice. He had video footage of me in Singapore a year back when I was playing really well. He compared the two and there were quite a few things out of place.” Buhrmann, who will concentrate more now on his coaching than on a playing career that brought him nine professional wins, said his work with Schwartzel was nothing drastic. “I don't want to take anything away from Charl, who has worked so hard, or his dad, who provided him with the basics of his swing,” he said. “My work with Charl was simple, the swing is all about foundation and posture, about ensuring your weight stays in the right place. You need to be in the right position in the sequence of the swing. “Sometimes a golfer has the right moves but they're in the wrong sequence,” added Buhrmann. “Charl has a very good understanding of his swing, that's what really makes him world class. If you don't understand your technique yourself then you can't take advice, absorb the good and dump the bad.” Triple major winner Ernie Els spotted Schwartzel's talent as a junior and enrolled him in his foundation which develops talented young golfers in South Africa. “Ernie's given some fantastic Masters performances in the past but a couple of times it's been stolen from his hands,” said Schwartzel of the 1994 and 1997 US Open winner and 2002 British Open champion. “I never thought I would be putting on a Green Jacket before him, not in a million years,” the South African said after finishing with four straight birdies Sunday to land his first major victory. Youth take over The last four major champions are noteworthy in part because of their passports. It's the first time since the Masters began in 1934 that four non-Americans have won golf's four biggest events. It's also worth paying attention to their birth certificates. The old man in the group is Graeme McDowell, who was 30 when he won the US Open last summer at Pebble Beach. The last three major champions were all in their 20s – Louis Oosthuizen (27), Martin Kaymer (25) and Charl Schwartzel (26). It's the first time since 1997 that three straight major champions were in their 20s, when Tiger Woods won the Masters at 21, Ernie Els won his second US Open at 27 and Justin Leonard won the British Open at 25. “It's a bright future, obviously,” said Jason Day, the 23-year-old Australian who tied for second at Augusta. Whether the last four majors represent a changing of the guard remains to be seen. Woods showed signs that his game was improving with his tie for fourth at the Masters, while Phil Mickelson won a week earlier at the Houston Open. The fact the last four major champions captured a Grand Slam event for the first time – the longest streak of first-time major winners in seven years – shows how tough it is to win. “When Tiger came along, he pretty much changed the game,” Day said. “Everyone turned into athletes. We're not flag slobs anymore. He has pretty much changed the game for the good.”
