Verdi's Views: Ogilvy soaking up proud moment for Australia

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Ogilvy, who was paired with Charl Schwartzel, halved his match on Day 1 against Bill Haas and Nick Watney.

Bob Verdi, one of the most respected sports writers in the United States, is on site at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia filing stories for PGATOUR.COM to give fans an inside look at the competition, teams, players and captains, as well as the unique setting of the Sand Belt courses in Victoria.

Verdi joined the Chicago Tribune in 1967 covering hockey and baseball. He gradually moved his expertise and skills as a columnist into golf and wrote full-time for the newspaper through 1997. He joined Golf Digest and Golf World as a senior writer in 1997. Currently, Verdi is a member of the Chicago Blackhawks' front office, serving as team historian.

Verdi has covered all eight previous Presidents Cup, including those in Australia (1998), South Africa (2003) and Canada (2007). Verdi will rely on his decades-long relationships with many of the players -- as well as team Captains Greg Norman and Fred Couples -- to focus on the players and personalities of The Presidents Cup and present stories from the event in his individual and iconic style.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Geoff Ogilvy was disappointed, but his International teammates would not go to bed hungry. With wife Juli, he scheduled a cookout for the squad at their home nearby, so fire up the Barbie. In Australia, there are no bad days, even on a balmy Thursday when the United States seized a 4-2 lead in the Presidents Cup.

More from Bob Verdi

Click here to access the archive page of Bob Verdi columns from Royal Melbourne.

A national ode of celebration to golf commenced early in the afternoon, when five skydivers hit the first fairway in regulation, then carried the shiny gold trophy toward the tee box. They departed Royal Melbourne on foot -- we think -- leaving one of the world's premier courses for elite players to wrestle with a foursomes format largely unfamiliar to all. Hitting alternate shots over a period of four hours can complicate a baffling game to another level.

"You might go 20 or 30 minutes without taking a full swing, but it's the same for everybody," noted Ogilvy, an elegant PGA TOUR star who figured in a key match. He and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa were two up with four holes remaining, only to be caught by America's lookalike kids, Bill Haas and Nick Watney. Both pairs halved the 18th with bogeys, a half point that felt half empty to the Internationals.

"We could have put them away, I suppose," said Ogilvy. "It felt like we led all day, but they played better on the back nine and made the putts when they had to."

Players from either side -- including Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker, who were ambushed by Adam Scott and K.J. Choi -- gathered with thousands of spectators to view what would materialize as one of only two foursomes that went the distance. Such gatherings are unique to group competitions, and as Ogilvy was saying the other day, regardless of how this Presidents Cup turns out, Australians will remember this week from now until forever.

"It's difficult to explain to someone who isn't from here what this means to our country," said Ogilvy, who grew up near Royal Melbourne, a childhood that afforded him numerous opportunities to hop a fence and dream. He did just that in 1998, when the Presidents Cup was here, and even now when he recalls the moment, his eyes are big as saucers.

"I want to say that I probably had a ticket," he said. "But instead of walking all the way around to the entrance, I jumped over a barrier and watched. Naturally, all of us at the time looked up to Greg Norman as our hero. I wanted to see him play, of course. But I might also have just taken a spot, too, and waited till everybody came through. That was mid-December, so school would have been in session, but I probably didn't attend classes for a few days. Beaumaris Primary School.

"Still there, near the 15th tee this week. Parents' permission. Just as they let me get up in the middle of the night to watch the Masters or British Open. They were into it themselves, which helped. Before that, there was the Australian Open here in 1987, and the Bicentennial Classic a year later with an obnoxious $500,000 first prize. I wound up following Freddie Couples, ironically. I was, what, 11? Now he's the opposing captain. Everybody was here. Including Jack Nicklaus. It was massive."

Like fellow Aussie professionals, seeing his native land in the rear view mirror was imperative to pursue one's aspirations.

"This is a difficult place to leave," said Ogilvy. "But there's no other way. I mean, if we had 35 events in Australia like there are 35 PGA TOUR events in America, that would be great. We have this house here, which we might use for six weeks this year. Juli and I have three children -- 5, 3 and 1. We have to think about their schooling soon. Pheobe, the oldest, starts next autumn. There are great schools here in Melbourne, and great schools in San Diego, where we live virtually all year.

"San Diego is another place that's hard to leave, by the way. Juli is from Texas. She likes Australia. Farthest I went was grade 12, but travel is a great education. The best education is in fact when you finish your formal education, isn't it? Whether it's between classes when you're in school or when you get out of school and enter real life. I mean, isn't that education in its truest sense?

"Australia is a very proud country when it comes to sports. When there is an Olympics ongoing, you can walk up and down the streets and people will know the medal count. That's all you hear, people talking about the medals. Greg had some forerunners in golf, for sure. Peter Thomson, Bruce Crampton, David Graham. But Greg took golf to another level, to where it exploded. To have him as our captain, to be around him for an entire week on this golf course, it's storybook. Royal Melbourne is on the same level as Augusta National, Shinnecock Hills, Cypress Point, Pine Valley. But it's maybe $8,000 to join and $2,000 a year dues, presuming you can get it. It's who you know. I live in the United States and love it, but I don't know how I would convey what this means to us and our country."

There was a smattering of Americans in the audience, but absolutely no doubt about prevailing loyalties. Five Aussies are on the Internationals, and each was hailed loudly at every sighting. Two played together -- Jason Day and Aaron Baddeley -- before thick galleries. And naturally, Scott was the featured attraction in the sixth group off against Woods. Tiger heard cheers a week ago at the Australian Open, but not Thursday.

Scott was brilliant, the same Scott who was seated in a private plane, ready to depart New York when Ogilvy won the U.S. Open at Winged Foot in 2006. Scott instantly collected his luggage, improvised travel plans, and left the airport to join his pal's celebration. Very classy, very typical.

"We stick together, we're a proud bunch," said Ogilvy, who probably would be cooking up whatever Scott desired at the team dinner.