Ogilvy finds the feel -- and contention in Friday 64
By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
FORT WORTH, Texas -- It's a feel thing.
He can't explain it. He can't give you a visual. There is no translation.
| Inside the Numbers | ||||||||||||||
| A look at Geoff Ogilvy's second round at Colonial | ||||||||||||||
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But lord, does it work.
One minute Geoff Ogilvy can't come within a foot of the hole. The next, he's making everything this side of Dallas. As in a 6-under 64 during the second round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Seven birdies, including five in a row.
"It's an intangible type of thing,'' Ogilvy explained. "It's impossible to describe my feel to someone else. You just go through all the things that you've used before until you find one that works.''
And it only took him -- what -- almost two months?
Ogilvy, a former U.S. Open champion, has been frustrated since the Masters when he started a cycle of hitting it great and putting poorly. He won the World Golf Championships-CA Championship, then finished tied for second at the Shell Houston Open. Then ... poof.
"The last month I'd been missing the hole by a foot from 12 feet,'' he said.
But in Miami? He putted perfectly for the first two rounds and OK the rest of the way. Houston was good, too. And somehow between Thursday night and Friday morning, he found the groove again.
"If I putted like today for the rest of my life I'd be very content,'' he said. "Even the ones I missed were going near the hole.''
That, folks, was the difference between his opening 72 and second-round 64.
Ogilvy got the scoring going on the 11th hole -- his second -- with a 27-foot birdie. Then, at No. 17, he slid in an 11-footer for birdie and followed it with an 8 ½-footer at the next.
After the turn, Ogilvy dropped birdies on the first three holes -- he actually just missed eagle at the first -- and he was on his way. He got to 5 under for the tournament -- and 7 under for the day -- with another birdie at the sixth from 14 feet, but let one slip away when he hit trees with his tee shot, as well as his approach, at No. 7.
"Even the ones I didn't make were rolling right toward the hole,'' Ogilvy said. "So it was a proper putting round today. Fun to do it. It only takes one or two to go in and all of a sudden, you feel like a good putter again. It's a weird game.''
His patience was thin at Augusta National, as well as at the Wachovia Championship and THE PLAYERS Championship, where he missed the cut (77-75).
But something clicked.
"He's a great player,'' said second-round leader Phil Mickelson. "Today's round shows how well he's playing. Yesterday's round was more of a shocker.''
This is, in a way, a home game for Ogilvy. Yes, he's Australian, but his wife Juli was born and raised in Texas and went to Texas Tech. And he claims Judy Rankin in his extended family -- Juli's sister is married to Rankin's son Tuey.
"It wouldn't have been good to miss the cut,'' he said. "There are all kinds of people coming in today.''
Regardless, Ogilvy has put himself in contention going into the weekend.
After this, it's on to the Memorial, then he's headed for San Diego for a week to hang out with Adam Scott and prepare for the U.S. Open.
And in between practice rounds? Well, you can't, he said, play golf all day.
Scott, a surfer, will likely head to the beach to unwind with Ogilvy in tow. "He's a surfer,'' Ogilvy said. "I attempt to surf. He can surf. I'll have a splash-around.''
Or maybe he'll get the feel there, too. Just in his feet, not his hands.
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