T.J.'s Take: Ogilvy not a one-hit wonder

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It might not have been as prestigious, but Geoff Ogilvy's win at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship on Monday was more impressive than his victory at the 2006 U.S. Open.

T.J. Auclair

Some might argue that Ogilvy's win at Winged Foot fell into his lap. To a certain extent, it did. It was ultimately Phil Mickelson's monumental 72nd hole meltdown that allowed Ogilvy to hoist the coveted silverware, but the Aussie was nails down the stretch to finish at 2 over. At the time, though, he couldn't have known he was playing for the win.

The CA Championship was a different beast -- a Blue Monster, in fact, with the potential threat of a Tiger attack.

Winning on the PGA TOUR has to be one of the grandest of accomplishments in all of sports. Unfortunately for Ogilvy and the rest of his peers, they're playing in an era when another guy makes winning look easy. For the record, it's anything but easy.

Whether it was his maiden TOUR win at the now-defunct Chrysler Classic in Tucson where he outlasted Mark Calcavecchia and Kevin Na in a playoff, his romp through the 2006 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship where he eventually got the better of Davis Love III in the 36-hole final, the U.S. Open or Monday's victory at Doral, Ogilvy has proven time and again that he's a world-class player.

However, in terms of ranking wins, the CA Championship, for my money (which isn't much), was Ogilvy's signature triumph.

He was practically flawless. Just one bogey in 72 holes was magnificent. When paired with Tiger Woods on the weekend, many players seem to fold like a cheap suit, but not Ogilvy. He rose to the occasion in a big way with a 4-under 68 in the third round that positioned him beautifully for the final round.

Ogilvy took a four-shot advantage into the final 18 holes and he needed all four of those shots to rise to the top over a grueling two-day marathon because of weather.

Check out the five names that followed Ogilvy at Doral: Retief Goosen (tied for second), Jim Furyk (tied for second), Vijay Singh (tied for second), Woods (tied for fifth) and Steve Stricker (tied for fifth). Stud, stud, stud, stud and stud.

And contrary to what we've been led to believe in the last six months, Tiger is not unstoppable. Ogilvy displayed the poise we expect from the world's best but haven't seen lately when Tiger is in the mix.

After starting the 2008 campaign on a sour note with three missed cuts and getting bounced in the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship, Ogilvy snapped out of his funk in the last three weeks culminating with Monday's win.

Shockingly, Ogilvy birdied just one of Doral's four par 5s in the final round and still managed to come out on top. He wasn't exactly spot on off the tee either, hitting less than 50 percent of his fairways, which tied him for 62nd in the field of 79. But, as the old adage goes, "It's not how you drive, it's how you arrive."

That was Ogilvy. He may have sprayed it off the tee but led the field by hitting nearly 77 percent of Doral's greens in regulation. It's not often, if ever, that a player misses more fairways than he hits and drops just one shot to par over 72 holes.

The confidence Ogilvy will take from his latest win should prove to be tremendous, even if his career doesn't need validation. The fact is, when Ogilvy gives himself an opportunity to win, he's not the type who hurts himself. He thrives on it and rises to the occasion without the visible killer instinct.

Because of Tiger's dominance, we unfairly lose sight of how remarkable and deep the rest of the PGA TOUR field is. Ogilvy's win, with Tiger in the field, wasn't just his alone -- it was one for the rest of the boys too.

There's no denying that a tournament is always more exciting when Tiger is near the top. As Tiger has proven, he'll always win his share and his share is incredibly, and historically, better than most.

Hats off to Ogilvy for keeping it together down the stretch at Doral. This one didn't fall into his lap. It was there for the taking and Ogilvy grabbed it.