Three's A Crowd?

Ogilvy Set To Play With Mickelson, Woods At PGA Championship

August 16, 2006

By Dan O'Neill

Medinah, Ill. - Imagine what it would have been like to be on a concert stage with Paul McCartney and John Lennon, or be on the same basketball floor with Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, or be in the ring with Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

Geoff Ogilvy did at least one thing that the world's top two ranked players could not this year: win the U.S. Open. (John Mummert/USGA)

Or imagine being Geoff Ogilvy on Thursday and Friday at Medinah Country Club, sharing PGA Championship tees with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Has there ever been a crowd where the reigning U.S. Open winner was more anonymous?

"I'm sure it'll be a zoo," said Ogilvy, who won the U.S. Open at Winged Foot in June. "There's going to be a lot of people turn up when we're on the first tee on Thursday. It's going to be fun; it's going to be interesting to see how they get along with each other."

If you get a sense that Ogilvy will be equal parts fan and competitor during the first two rounds of the season's final major, you are correct. Many players would perceive such a draw to be a kiss if death. The crowds surrounding the threesome, which will start at 10 a.m. ( CDT ) at No. 10 tee on Thursday, promise to be outrageous. Fewer people showed up to see Moses part the Red Sea.

Distractions players like Woods and Mickelson deal with in a single round are more than the mortal golfer might experience in a lifetime. But as he demonstrated with his gutsy finish at Winged Foot last June, Ogilvy doesn't scare easily. The 29-year-old Australian can't wait for the rock show.

"Tiger's crowds and Phil's crowds . both of those guys, more than anyone else, tend to bring out non-golf fans," Ogilvy said. "Most of us, if we've got fans, they're generally golf fans and they know how to watch a golf tournament.

"There are people who follow Tiger and Phil who generally don't know how to watch a golf tournament. There might be a lot of that. But I think the photographers know what they're doing for the most part. They're all scared of (Woods' caddie Steve Williams) now, so they'll do what they're told to do."

Ogilvy has played with both Woods and Mickelson individually. He acknowledged many people who play with Woods have trouble concentrating on their own game. But he added, "I've always played all right when I've played with him.

"I think it's very easy to get caught up watching him play because it's so fun to watch him play. Most of us out here, we've pretty much seen everyone play golf, and it's ho-hum, a bit of a yawn. But when you play with Tiger . you find yourself watching and thinking, 'This is pretty impressive.' "

What's more, there is a tabloid side to the pairing. The press perceives Woods and Mickelson playing together to be like the estranged Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston sharing a cab. The world's No.1- and No.2-ranked players are thought to be something less than bosom buddies. And Ogilvy understands that part, too.

"The (2004) Ryder Cup probably set that in motion," he said. "They didn't appear to be the best friends that day, I don't know. They walked on the first tee and they were on opposite sides of the tee.

"They don't play practice rounds together. Maybe they're the two best golfers in the world and (the press) wants a story, and that's a bit of a story. I'm sure they'll probably be best friends, talking to each other for the first 36 holes. I don't know, but it will be interesting to see."

In the meantime, if no one pays attention to the U.S. Open winner, that's OK by him. Ogilvy put himself on the map this season by following up his win at the Accenture Match-Play Championship - where he beat four major championship winners one on one - with his performance at Winged Foot.

And while Woods and Mickelson will dominate the headlines for the first two days of the PGA , Ogilvy will be working on his own story. They may be the acknowledged "best players in the game," but Ogilvy has a chance to sneak up and be the Player of the Year.

"To do that, I'd have to win this week," he said. "If not this week, than the Tour Championship or something really big and have them not win any more at all. That's not going to happen the way Tiger is playing, I don't think.

"But I'm very comfortable with being the smallest name in my group. Anytime you get to play with the best golfers in the world, it has to be a good thing . there's something you can learn from them."

A curious thought then entered Ogilvy's head, like a light bulb going off. "Maybe I'll play pretty well and they'll learn off me," he said with a smile, "I don't know."

Maybe, in case we all forget on Thursday and Friday, he'll remind everyone that he is the U.S. Open champion.

Dan O'Neill is a freelance writer whose work has appeared on USGA championship sites in the past.