Geoff Ogilvy | 40 | Scottsdale, Arizona & Melbourne | 2017 Presidents Cup Assistant Captain
I’m a person who writes down goals. And one I’ll definitely be writing down soon is: make the 2019 Presidents Cup team. Why? Well, for a number of reasons. Firstly, playing on the International team at the Presidents Cup is a huge honour. But secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it’ll be at Royal Melbourne. Not only do I live practically next door to the club, but the first Presidents Cup I ever saw in person was the 1998 Cup at Royal. I had just flown back from a tournament in New Zealand and landed in time to watch highlights like Shigeki Maruyama chipping in, and then him teaming up with Craig Parry, plus Paz beating Justin Leonard 5&3 in the Sunday singles. The Internationals hammered the US team by nine points (20.5 to 11.5). And to top it off, I was on the fringes of the afterparty at Crown Casino and was able to rub shoulders with some of my idols. That was amazing. It was a really good night that showed me how cool the Presidents Cup is. Sadly, when the Cup came back to Royal in 2011, and I was on the team, we got absolutely nailed (19-15). So given that in 2019 it is heading back to Royal Melbourne, it’s a big goal for me to get on the International team. If that were to be my last Presidents Cup, what a way it would be to finish.
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Last year, when I was named as an assistant captain to Nick Price for the 2017 Cup, I was really excited. Obviously, I’m still on tour and I still had intentions of trying to make the team. But I was stoked to be an assistant captain because it meant I was going to be there, fullstop. It’s such a cool event and I’m excited the other assistants – Ernie Els and Tony Johnstone – are great guys who I have known for a long time.
2007, 2009 and at home in 2011.
This month it is going to be great in New York. The Presidents Cup will be held at Liberty National, we’re staying near Ground Zero and getting the water taxi across the Hudson River. There are better courses than Liberty National in New Jersey – I’m not picking on it; it’s a really nice course – but there aren’t any better venues for the Presidents Cup than Liberty National. It’s almost a custom-made venue for the event.
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A couple years ago I was probably getting a bit ‘over it’, as you do when you’re playing poorly. I’ve got 10 years left on the main tour and I’m pretty motivated to have another five or six years now like I had a few years ago. I feel really close. I’m not done. And I’m generally comfortable when I get a chance. The bigger the tournament, something about it makes me focus harder.
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You never stop learning in golf. It’s why the 20-somethings get all the talk, but they’re not going to have it all for free because you can’t top 20 or 30 years of experience. When you get to my age, we have that advantage, we have the physical advantage. I feel that now – I feel like my body feels good and my game feels really close to being good on a regular basis.
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World ranking points, exemptions, the Presidents Cup – all these things are a byproduct of hitting one good shot at a time. I know I can finish off golf tournaments if I’m playing well. If I do my job, they will take care of themselves.
– with Evin Priest
