Oakmont, Pa. – With Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson carnivorously gobbling up major championships of late, it’s been hard for almost anyone else to grab a wee bit of headline space.
That may be one reason why Geoff Ogilvy has been able to fly into Oakmont Country Club under the radar in preparation to defend his U.S. Open title.
Asked Tuesday to reflect on what the past year has been like, the Australian allowed that “it’s quite nice to be introduced as the U.S. Open champion on the first tee every week – hopefully that doesn’t stop after this week.”
While he’s been winless in 13 starts this season, Ogilvy has had a solid year, with his best finishes – second place at the Accenture Match Play, a tie for third at the WGC-CA Championship, and a tie for ninth at the Memorial. That may bode well for this week; another plus, Ogilvy added, was the mind-set he carries into major championships.
“There’s less players in the field who truly believe they can win one of these,” he said. “You go into a regular tour event and there are 120 guys that really believe they can win that week. Here, there might be 20 guys who truly believe they can win.”
Truth in reporting
One of the tales circulating out of Oakmont last week was that Ogilvy shot an 85 during a practice round, losing a half-dozen golf balls in the process.
“That’s an exaggeration – I think I shot 83 and lost two,” he said. “But it was hard; it was five shots harder last Monday than it is right now.”
Welcome back
Of course the greatest round played at Oakmont – some argue the greatest major championship round ever – was the 63 fired by Johnny Miller during the final 18 holes of the 1973 Open. Trailing by six shots, with 11 players in front of him when play began Sunday, Miller won going away for his first major.
“It was sort of like a round where, you’re sleeping at night and you’re able to place the ball where you want to in your dreams,” Miller, who will call the action this week for NBC, said Tuesday. “I just happened to do it during the daytime, for real, in the last round.”
Keep away
After last year’s sectional qualifying, former Denver resident Bret Guetz found himself as the tournament’s first alternate, making the trip out to Winged Foot in the hopes of sneaking into the field. It didn’t happen, as not a single player withdrew from the 156-man field.
This year, England’s David Howell dropped out with an injury, but the first alternate from last week’s qualifier at Columbine Country Club, Dustin White, won’t be in position to take advantage. After the USGA’s super-secret re-allotment calculations were completed, the Colorado site was ranked 10th out of the 15 sectional sites.
According to one USGA official, White, who won last year’s qualifier, “has as much chance as you or I of getting in.”
