Victory deservedly thrusts Ogilvy back into spotlight

text size

Greenwood/Getty Images

The blue-eyed Aussie has now won five titles on the PGA TOUR since 2005.

Maybe it was the way he won that caught your attention.

Hauser column archive

Six shots. Including one of those too-close-for-comfort moments in the final round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship, followed by a leap into hyper-space. Tiger territory.

Maybe it was the explanation of the current versions of the Titleist Pro V1 ball and which one he was playing last week.

"There's a new-old one, and there's a new-new one, which is the new one, which is the model in front of the old one,'' he said. " . . . I'm using the non-patent-breaching version of the 2007 ball."

Maybe it was his game. Rock solid. Didn't really miss a shot. Adjusted to everything those fickle trade winds threw at him.

The slightly off-center Puma wardrobe? The Aussie accent? A caddie nicknamed Squirrel?

Or just maybe it was the rugged, nerf-herder scruff. He left his electric razor at home. At least that's what he said.

Honestly, it doesn't matter why you took notice of Geoff Ogilvy last week at Kapalua.

It's simply high time you did.

Ogilvy is No. 6 in the world with a bullet. He has a U.S. Open and two World Golf Championships on his resume. He's won twice in the last six weeks -- the Australian PGA was the other -- and had two other top-six finishes.

The U.S. Open win in 2006? It came courtesy of a 30-foot chip-in at the 71st hole and a save at the 72nd. At Winged Foot. Big-time shots on a brutal course, both remain obscured by a chaotic montage of mistakes by Phil Mickelson, Colin Montgomerie and Jim Furyk.

Forgot Ogilvy's brilliance there? Don't apologize. Just remember it from here on out.

No, he hasn't gotten the credit he deserves. But that's not all bad.

Ogilvy's not about the glare that comes with being Tiger or Phil or Anthony Kim or his best PGA TOUR mate Adam Scott. Or even Boo Weekley.

Badz/PGA TOUR

Ogilvy isn't afraid to share what he thinks and offers a unique perspective on golf.

He's not a Tiger who can't go out to dinner or walk through a crowd without security. He's not Scott or Sergio Garcia, both of whom draw paparazzi for who they're dating. He's not an Ernie Els or Vijay Singh who are defined by their comeback struggles. He's not AK who, three years removed from his teens, is a major-in-waiting.

Ogilvy likes the background. He doesn't fit neatly into any group that draws that spotlight. He's not young, nor old. He's 31 and 18 months younger than Tiger and settled with a family -- wife Juli, 2-year-old Phoebe and one-year-old Jasper.

A decade ago, he was grinding on the European and Australasian Tours. He ground it out on the PGA TOUR, too, kicking himself too often early in his career. Then came 2005 and his first win here -- the Chrysler Classic of Tucson -- and a big 2006 with wins at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and the Open.

He followed that with a not-so-great 2007, a better 2008. He's a bit easier on himself now, too. It's a sign of maturity. Contending and not winning, after all, is part of the process. And now he's close, so close, to playing at a high level all the time.

But more than anything, he's comfortable being himself. Which, we have to say, may be the coolest thing about him.

Ogilvy is a flip-flops and jeans kind of guy. He wore a jacket, tie and tennis shoes to last year's Association of Golf Writers Dinner at Birkdale. Casual chic. He looked fabulous.

He did the tuxedo thing for his wedding and a little function at The White House, a State dinner where he and wife Juli were seated with President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Looked great there, too.

He's unflappable and unpretentious. He doesn't give clichéd answers, but rather perspective. And he's not afraid to say what he thinks which makes him one of the best quotes in sports.

Take Sunday night when someone asked him if he ever pinched himself and thought about how unbelievable his life is now.

"We are so lucky we play for the money that we do,'' he said. "It's silly, really. And it's a completely absurd lifestyle we live, like you say. Families that come out and hang out in the middle of the Pacific for the winter and play for a million dollars, it's absurd.

"The thankful part for me is that I'm thankful I'm pretty good at something that people want to watch and people want to put money up for. I mean, there's 20 guys a year now who make more than Arnie (Palmer) did in his whole career, every year, and that's just ridiculous. It's just timing, our generation's timing is impeccable."

And did we mention his family tree? He usually doesn't, but it includes British royalty (Sir Angus Ogilvy), one of Scotland's most famous kings (Robert the Bruce) and Hall of Famer Judy Rankin (Juli's sister is married to Rankin's son Tuey).

Ogilvy does everything with ease. Whether it's speaking at dinner, pushing a stroller or wearing flip flops to dinner. He's more outspoken than Scott or Aaron Baddeley, but no lightning rod like countryman Greg Norman.

He calls himself a work in progress. He's constantly talking to himself. Just in a nicer tone than earlier in his career.

Last week, he was brilliant. He grew up playing in the wind and on fast greens and it showed at Kapalua.

But will that translate to a great season?

We're going to take a page from Ogilvy and say that doesn't matter right now.

What does is that he keeps -- as he says -- chipping away, playing well and having a few more good tournaments and that we keep getting to know him.

The rest will take care of itself.

Melanie Hauser is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.