Clay Buchholz of my beloved Boston Red Sox threw major league baseball's last no-hitter. While the fans in Fenway Park loved every minute of it, every Baltimore Oriole he faced on that September evening wanted to be the guy who broke it up with a hit. No athlete wants to be embarrassed.
Tiger Woods's streak of five consecutive PGA Tour wins was like a no-hitter. He was in complete control, and every player competing against him wanted to be the man who broke the streak.
I spoke with Geoff Ogilvy, the winner of the WGC-CA Championship, a few weeks ago at Whisper Rock Golf Club in Scottsdale. During our conversation, he paid kudos to Tiger's run and said he admired how well Woods had been playing. But Ogilvy also said he wanted to rise to the challenge. He wanted to be the guy who ended Tiger's streak, so I am not surprised that he won at Doral.
Ogilvy had not won a PGA Tour event since his U.S. Open victory at Winged Foot in 2006. He never really got the credit he deserved for that win, and I suspect that it bothered him to some degree. In most people's minds, Phil Mickelson lost more than Ogilvy won.
So why had the Australian failed to win since his U.S. Open triumph? It's important to realize that Ogilvy and his wife, Juli, have two children under the age of 2, and he's said that it is only within the last few months that everyone has been sleeping through the night. Now that his personal life is settling into place, he can focus more on his game. I think anyone who has kids can relate.
I'm not completely sure that Ogilvy himself realizes just how good he is. His swing has always been solid, but over the last few years his attitude has gotten a lot better. His self-talk a few years ago was often unprintable. He beat himself up a lot. But today he's more in control and positive. The ability to roll with the punches is a helpful attribute when you're playing tough courses and the pressure is building.
In my opinion there is only one thing holding Geoff Ogilvy back — his willingness to accept all the baggage that goes with getting near the top of the mountain. He doesn't seek the limelight, and you have to enjoy the limelight a little if you want to be the best. Davis Love didn't like it, and neither did Fred Couples or David Duval. Greg Norman loved it. Tiger deals with it. Ogilvy just needs to learn how to live with it.
Winning at Doral was not only big because it broke Tiger's streak, but also because Ogilvy will once again be mentioned in the same breath as the other great players in the game. He has won three significant events. To solidify his place among the game's elite he needs to win another major, or the Players. When he does that, golf fans will recognize just how good he is.
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