TEN is a number Geoff Ogilvy has become rather familiar with.
Shortly after emerging triumphant from a dramatic US Open Sunday at Winged Foot in 2006, the Victorian native appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman for its popular segment, ‘Top Ten List’. Reading out the ‘Top Ten Things That Went Through Geoff Ogilvy’s Mind After Winning The US Open’ had a worldwide audience howling with laughter at observations such as, “No.8: even I’ve never heard of me” and “No.9: I wish I hadn’t put all my money on Phil Mickelson”.
As the US Open heads to Pennsylvania’s famed Oakmont Country Club this month, 10 is now the number of years since Ogilvy’s breakthrough Major victory in New York. The 38-year-old took time out of preparing for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April to catch up with Australian Golf Digest and reflect on the past the decade. Ogilvy shared some poignant thoughts on the health of both Aussie golf and Tiger Woods, but not before apologising for the many phone interruptions he was dodging while walking through the birthplace of Jazz. “Sorry I’m in New Orleans, so there’s music everywhere,” he said politely, justifying his reputation as ‘golf’s best interview’.
TIME seems to go quicker as you get older. That’s not just true for golfers, but everyone in life, really. To say it’s been 10 years since I became a Major champion is … crazy; unbelievable. It was the greatest day in my playing career and while I’m pretty hazy on the first 14 holes, 15-18 is as clear now as it was back then.
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So many things stand out, like the drive on the 72nd. I hit my best shot of the week; absolutely flushed it and drew it towards the left, like I wanted. But I get up there and realise it landed in a divot. You wait your whole life to execute a tee shot under pressure on the finishing hole of a Major with a chance to win, and it lands in a sandy divot. But that’s golf, isn’t it? It’s a wonderful game.
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You still have to play the ball as it lies, as the great Bobby Jones would say. My iron shot out of the sandy divot was as good as you could strike it, but maybe because of the sand there was that extra spin and it came back off the front of the 18th green. The funny thing was my coach, Dale Lynch, was into me about the way I used to hit that pitch shot I would need to get up-and-down to win. Lynchy was really prophetic three years before that; he was like, “You better get good at this 30-yard pitch shot because you’ll need it in America”. Begrudgingly, I worked on it, even though I thought my technique was pretty good. I’d been working on that shot for three years and when I needed it most, it was there. I’d have to say it’s still the greatest shot I’ve ever hit, given the circumstances.
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I’ll never forget that little, downhill right-to-left putt. But to be honest, my thought was, if I make this, I’ve got a great chance at making the playoff. I never thought for one second that putt would win me the tournament.
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Ian Poulter, a good friend of mine, he knew. He was my final-round playing partner and in the scorer’s hut, we saw on TV that Phil (Mickelson) had driven it into the trees, so ‘Poults’ gives me that smile like, you’ve got this. And then when Phil goes for that second shot in the trees and it doesn’t come off, Poults is now giving me a huge smile.
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The final round worked out very well for me, despite having a couple of really horrible breaks. It was a weird feeling for about 10 minutes during the trophy presentation at Winged Foot. Phil had so many runner-up finishes at the US Open. Since coming second to Payne Stewart in 1999, Phil became ‘the US Open guy’. New York sports fans are like Collingwood supporters – they’ll let you know what they think. Phil was their favourite, and they were very vocal about that. Chatting to him on the green after my victory was difficult. It would have been really tough for him, but he handled it with as much class as anyone could. I don’t know Phil amazingly well, but I know him well enough and his caddie, Bones, (Jim Mackay) used to live next door to me. Phil is a classy and respectful bloke. It was somewhat bittersweet for me because, like a lot of us on the US PGA Tour, we’re actually golf fans and I wanted Phil to win a US Open at some point. But it was my turn that week.
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One of the things no one talks about is how terrible Phil played that week in 2006 – he drove it all over the place. But he willed himself to almost win it. Anyone else who was driving it like he was would have missed the cut, but because he is so talented and he has an imagination unlike anyone else, he was still in it to the very end. Incredible.
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The perks of winning a Major championship are pretty obvious for someone that becomes famous overnight – tickets to great sporting events come up and there’s probably not a course in the world I couldn’t call up and get a tee time. There’s also a little bit of private travel that opens up and it’s always nice to fly on private planes when you’re a travelling US PGA Tour pro. You definitely start to see every door in golf open. When you’re a Major champion, there’s more appearance money. That’s nice, whether or not you agree with appearance money, it’s just the economy of sport. Everyone wants you to do something – come and talk at a dinner or corporate engagement. The most rewarding thing, though, is you get a certain level of respect for your game in the US. Even though you’re still the same golfer, because you had the lowest, four-day score in the most important golf tournament in their country there’s a whole new level of respect. You’re a US Open champion forever.
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US Open courses are brutal, but this year at Oakmont will be the most difficult by a long stretch, I think. You can go to Oakmont on any given day and it’s the hardest course in the world. It’s incredible – a beautiful layout on a stunning piece of land where every hole’s difficult. The greens make Augusta look flat and slow. Pinehurst is somewhat like the St Andrews of US golf. Pebble Beach can kind of claim that, too, but Pinehurst is so historic with its old-style town and old-school hotel. It’s one of America’s philosophical homes of golf. Any day you get to play Pebble Beach is an amazing day, but when you’re there playing the US Open it takes on a whole new feel.
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If you haven’t been to a US Open it’s hard to describe the scale of how big it feels. The Masters is a beautiful place and a really special arena with knowledgeable, respectful fans but Augusta feels intimate with relatively small crowds. The US Open in every way feels like the biggest tournament you’ve ever played in. So much preparation goes into it. I never understood how big it is for America until I won it; I underestimated how many Americans actually watch the US Open Sunday. It’s Father’s Day and it’s a tradition even for non-golfers. It blows me away how many people watched me win at Winged Foot. Growing up in Australia, it’s all about The Masters and The Open Championship. Not over here.
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My other greatest US Open memory as a player was 2008, when Tiger won playing on a broken leg at Torrey Pines. I played with Rocco Mediate in the second last group and I was in contention for much of the day before eventually finishing tied ninth. Rocco is such a fun guy and was in the lead or tied-first for most of the day. When he finished his round it looked like he was going to win – I was going to be the Ian Poulter this time round. But then Tiger makes that ridiculous birdie out of the right rough on the last and holes that incredible putt on a bumpy, 72-hole-old green. Rocco predicted it. As I was congratulating him he said, “Not yet. Tiger will make this putt. You watch.” I’ve never, ever heard a noise like it. After signing our scorecards I was walking back to the clubhouse when I heard the most unbelievable roar and I immediately knew what it was – it could only be Tiger holing that putt. That’s one of my favourite playing memories of all time.
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Is chasing better? It was definitely easier to sleep on Saturday night before the 2006 US Open final round being behind the leaders. With no lead and everyone’s attention on the top guys, there’s far less pressure, no question. One occasion I had a big lead was the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii in 2009, when I started Sunday with a six-shot buffer. And honestly, I didn’t know what to do with myself. Do I try and make pars, or what? It’s a weird feeling. I had four bogies and the sky was starting to fall. But I pulled it together with seven birdies and an eagle and ended up winning by six. Now, when a golfer wins a tournament after a big lead, it almost impresses me more than anything else.
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With Tiger registered to play this month at Oakmont, I don’t know what to think. It would be great to have him back, that’s for sure. But it’s been a long time since he had any continuity and he hasn’t played a bunch of tournaments in a row and been in contention. That’s tough. Physically, he’s obviously hurting. His body is pretty battered and beaten down, and you don’t see too many people bounce back from multiple surgeries on their spine. In saying that, we spent 15 years underestimating the guy. As good as he was, he always exceeded expectations. I would think it’s a long shot for him to contend at Oakmont. I’m not saying he can’t win, but it would be pretty amazing if he did it at the US Open.
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I always had a good time playing with Tiger. We get on great. For three rounds he chats and jokes with you – such a great playing partner. Then come Sunday, the red shirt would go on and he would stop the talking and just focus. But it was always a lot of fun to watch because at the time he was destined to be the best of all time. As a golf fan, you can’t put a price on that.
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It’s been amazing to watch Jason Day and Adam Scott this year, both big chances at Oakmont this month. After what Adam went through with the putter (anchoring ban), to see him work that out and putt even better than he did with the broomstick is pretty cool. Adam and I are peers, even though he’s three years younger; he was so advanced as a kid that we ended up playing a lot of junior golf together and enjoyed so many practice rounds together. Winning one tour event over here in the US is amazing so for Adam and Jason to win four between them – and big events at that – in the space of five weeks was incredible. It made me realise Australian professional golf is in as good a place as it’s ever been.
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If you take Jordan Spieth out of the picture, Jason Day has been the best player in the world for more than a year. When Jason’s on song the golf is as good as anyone’s ever played. He holds the record for the lowest 72-hole aggregate in Major championship history (20-under par at the 2015 US PGA Championship) for a reason. He’s worked himself into being the best player in the world.
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America has really embraced Jason Day and it’s not hard to see why. He works hard, hits the ball a mile – which everybody loves – makes a lot of putts, hits the big shots at the right time and generally looks like he’s having a lot of fun out on the course. But what America has really got behind is the fact he’s paid his dues. He played a lot better than his results suggested for a long time but couldn’t get over the line in the big events and people really appreciate a guy who can work that side of the game out.
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What have I got to do to get back to my best? It’s pretty simple, I just have to make more putts. I’m hitting the ball better every week. My short game is still the most reliable part of my game. But I’ve been chasing my tail a bit on the greens. With putting, you start getting stuck into technique and you end up in your head about it. It beats you up mentally when you’re not holing anything and it’s hard to dig yourself out of the hole. If I putted like I did 10 years ago, I’d be contending every week.
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I wasn’t surprised when I heard the Australian Masters was scrapped. It had been dying a slow death since it left Huntingdale Golf Club, really. It’s a testament to the people who sell the tournament that they found sponsors every year. We play for such crazy money in the US that it’s hard to move the needle back home. When you can sponsor an AFL team for an entire season for the same amount as a golf tournament you can see why it’s such a battle. But I’m hearing some good rumours about some potential new tournaments, including a big Melbourne tournament that can be the new version of the Australian Masters. Melbourne deserves to have a golf tournament to match the success of the Australian Open. In reality, the Australian Open probably should be rotated in every state but the economic reality is Destination New South Wales have really embraced it, as has the city of Sydney. I still haven’t seen crowds like those that I saw in 2013 when Rory and Adam went down the stretch at Royal Sydney. I always feel like I’m leaving that event knowing the next year will be even better.
