/ 16 July 2008

Ogilvy could creep into Open win in Woods’ absence

Geoff Ogilvy won his only major the one time Tiger Woods missed the cut as a pro. Now Woods is missing his first major since 1996, and the Australian could emerge from a wide open field to take home the British Open’s famous claret jug.

Woods’ withdrawal because of a knee injury makes Ogilvy the second best player in the field at the 137th Open at Royal Birkdale if the world rankings are a guide. Only Phil Mickelson is ahead of him.

Ogilvy won the 2006 US Open after Mickelson double bogeyed the final hole and, with a liking for links courses, tied for fifth at St Andrews three years ago for his best finish at a British Open.

The 31-year-old Australian has been creeping quietly along toward another major and his steady, unspectacular play could be suited to Birkdale which has been soaked by recent rain and punishes those who find bunkers and the tangled rough.

”I’ve just gradually gotten better,” he said of a career that has brought only six titles all since 2005. ”I feel like I was a really slow learner with golf. How to go about it, stay patient on the golf course, how to approach it, how to practice, how my attitude needed to be on the golf course.

”I think I’ve learned from mistakes quite well and I just gradually worked it out. I don’t know about any one attribute. I think I hit the ball OK. I think I chip OK and I think I putt OK. But I think it all adds up to a pretty good package.”

Rated a 25-1 shot by the bookmakers, Ogilvy hopes that the tough Birkdale course may put many of his big rivals out of contention.

”The golf course is fantastic — it’s really difficult,” he said.

”It’s playing really long, quite narrow. The rough is pretty healthy. It’s just a very green Birkdale.”

Another factor that could be in Ogilvy’s favour is that only Australians and Americans have ever won here.

Australian winners are Peter Thomson (1954 and 1965) and Ian Baker-Finch (1991) and Americans Arnold Palmer (1961), Lee Trevino (1971), Johnny Miller (1976), Tom Watson (1983) and Mark O’Meara (1998).

Surprisingly, there’s no Greg Norman or Woods on that list of Birkdale winners.

The absence of Woods, who has three British Opens among his 14 majors, has been the biggest debating point here. The suggestion is that whoever wins on Sunday will always be considered lucky because the
world’s best player wasn’t here.

”I just hope they’ve taught the engraver how to put an asterisk on the trophy,” Ogilvy said. ”Then everyone will know what the tournament was all about.” – Sapa-AP