He attended his first Australian Open in 1983, aged six, at Kingston Heath. Three years later, accompanied by his mother, he sneaked into the event at Metropolitan through a conveniently located hole in the boundary fence. Less than a decade after that, he was back at Kingston Heath playing alongside the newly minted USPGA champion, Steve Elkington, in the final round en route to being the leading amateur. And, 15 years on from that memorable day, he was standing on the 18th green at The Lakes holding aloft the Stonehaven Cup as Australian Open champion. So it s safe to say the now 35-year old Geoff Ogilvy has a close and long-standing relationship with his national Open, one that has never diminished, even if the proud Melburnian now makes his home in the United States. I grew up with the championship, especially when it was played at Royal Melbourne, right next door to my house, says the 2006 US Open champion. I always found it hugely exciting. Which had a lot to do with the fact that Greg Norman seemed to win it every second year. Plus, so many of the greatest names in the game would come over and play. Which is still the case, of course, even if not quite in the same numbers as before. I think I ve competed in every Aussie Open – except one since my first in 1995. So it s been a big part of my career, both as an amateur and a professional. It would certainly take a huge life event for me to miss playing. Travelling as far as I have to from the US is no problem; I ll be playing in the Australian Open for as long as I am playing professionally. Still, there s nothing like finishing first, which is just what Ogilvy did two years ago. Winning was a huge thrill, especially as I played so well, he says. It felt like I was going to win from maybe halfway through the second round. Certainly, I knew I d be in with a great chance as long as I didn t do anything silly. I haven t had that feeling at many events, so it was especially nice to have it in what is one of the most important weeks of my year. I d go as far as to say that winning the Australian Open is the nearest thing I ve experienced to winning the US Open. Driving away from The Lakes two years ago, I had the same sort of buzz I had at Winged Foot. Part of that feeling of accomplishment, of course, stems from only a cursory glance at the roll call of champions over the years. Almost anyone who is or has been – anyone in golf over the last 112 years has his name on the famous old trophy. All the greats are there, maintains Ogilvy. I m betting that outside of the majors there aren t five events in world golf with a more impressive list of winners. Which is no surprise. The Australian Open remains one of the more impressive titles in golf. At one time it was maybe the biggest event in the game outside of the Open Championship and the US majors. Right now, our championship doesn’t quite hold the position it should in world golf. But these things are cyclical. So I have no doubt that the Australian Open will be back where it belongs sooner rather than later. If nothing else, history demands it. I know that, when I sit back at the end of my career and look back, the Australian Open will be right there at the top, just below my US Open title.
Author: John Huggan / emiratesaustralianopen.com.au