Geoff

Ogilvy

“Geoff’s love for his native Australia and for the Presidents Cup are some of the many things that make him a perfect selection as captain’s assistant,” Immelman said in a statement, which also announced Canada’s Mike Weir, Korea’s K.J. Choi and Colombia’s Camilo Villegas as assistants. “His golf IQ, calmness and experience of being a major champion makes him a huge asset to our young team.” Ogilvy was first selected as an assistant by Nick Price in 2017 and again by Ernie Els in 2019 at Royal Melbourne. Ogilvy played on three consecutive International Teams (2007, 2009, 2011), posting a 7-6-1 record. The 44-year-old Ogilvy has eight career PGA Tour victories, including the 2006 U.S. Open and three World Golf Championships events. He also notched two notable victories on home soil, winning the Australian PGA in 2008 and the Australian Open in 2010. Ogilvy last played full-time on Tour during the 2017-18 season, where he made four cuts in 18 starts.

Ogilvy has played sparingly in the last two years, making only seven OWGR-sanctioned starts while relocating his family from the U.S. back to his native Australia. His most recent event was back in early March, when he finished T-54 at the New Zealand Open just before the pandemic halted global competition. Ogilvy’s last PGA Tour start remains the 2018 Barracuda Championship, a tournament he also won in 2014 for the last of his eight Tour victories. Ogilvy has built a burgeoning course design portfolio, and last week it was announced that his OCM Golf design group will be in charge of redesigning of the No. 3 course at Medinah in advance of it hosting the 2026 Presidents Cup. Ogilvy turned 43 in June, and he was notably absent when the U.S. Open returned to Winged Foot and the site of his 2006 win. But moving forward it seems likely he’ll do most of his work with blueprint in hand rather than a wedge.

That’s four swings back from leader Robin Sciot-Siegrist. Ogilvy, who has fallen to 1,658th in the world rankings, has already made headlines here by showing strong support for the women’s game (this week’s event is running concurrently with the women’s Vic Open). But he’s doing his talking with the clubs too and matched Thursday’s score at the tougher Beach Course with another 67 at the easier Creek Course today. The Aussie started at No. 10 and made birdies at 13 and 16 before his lone bogey of the day at the par-5 18th. Ogilvy bounced back by coming home in 32 thanks to red circles at 2, 4, 7 and 9. This is the first time he’s been in the top ten at the midpoint since the 2017 Quicken Loans while before this week he’d missed 18 of his last 22 worldwide cuts.

The 41-year-old darling of the learned golfing world carded a 66 to open his Vic Open campaign last week and whilst he added a final lap 76 to finish T35 there was some element of improvement in the first round effort because it was his first 66 on any tour since he laced a pair of them together when T16 in the 2017 Wyndham Championship, a result what was his last top 20 anywhere. He heads to Lake Karrinyup where his views on the short format will be interesting but from a personal point of view he is looking for two cuts made on the bounce for the first time since November 2017. Since then he is 15-for-18. His sole course visit was yet another missed cut (in 2014).

“My mum and dad lived on site here until this year,” he explained in his pre-tournament press conference. “They just moved back into Geelong, so I’ve spent a fair bit of time here. Haven’t played it as much, weirdly enough, because it was always vacation time.” Ogilvy is a past runner-up in the Victoria Open when it was an Australasian Tour event but the former World No. 3 enters this week way down at 951st in the OWGR. He’s missed 10 of his last 11 worldwide cuts, the run broken by T32 in last year’s AT&T Byron Nelson. He also took T22 in the 2018 Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship so there are still flashes. He’s a risk but it’s not too far of a stretch to see Ogilvy having a decent week in this modest company.

Ogilvy finished at plus-five, a shot ahead of Phil Mickelson, Colin Montgomerie and Jim Furyk, and even chipped in for par on the 17th hole to get his first major.

Ogilvy hit a five-footer after getting a couple tough breaks on his two earlier shots. Mickelson is in the rough after his drive on the 18th hole and will try to pull some magic out of his hat for the win.

He got into a heated argument with his caddie apparently over a layup decision on the par-5 12th hole and immediately bogeyed the next two holes. He calmed down and regained his composure after that, but the two bogeys cost him a chance to hold the lead heading into Sunday’s final round.

He shot a 71-70 and sits at 1-over par, tied with little-known Kenneth Ferrie behind Steve Stricker and Colin Montgomerie. Ogilvy has the type of game that sets up well for a U.S. Open course, and he could easily be holding the trophy on Sunday.