In the wake of his second consecutive win at the season-opening SBS (nee Mercedes) Championship, Geoff Ogilvy is once again being hailed as a golfer to watch. In 2009, he won twice early on, adding an impressive conquest at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship to his Mercedes victory. But after that ... we didn't hear a whole lot from him.
So who is the real Geoff Ogilvy? Is he a true up-and-comer on the verge of greatness or just another golfer who gets hot here and there, now and then? And what's he like away from the course? Is he a good guy? He strikes me as the kind of golfer I could really get behind, but before jumping on the Ogilvy bandwagon, I want to know more. And it feels like there's a lot we Americans don't know about the lanky lunker from Down Under.His official PGA Tour profile tells us this much:
Was given a cut-down club by his dad at age 7 [good idea, Dad!] and progressed to a scratch handicap by age 16...Talented junior athlete in many sports, winning numerous athletics medals at state and national level...Interested in history of golf [excellent!]...Avid guitar enthusiast who has several Gibson guitars at home [good, good]...Ogilvy Family Foundation benefits children's hospitals and other organizations that assist children [wonderful].
All good stuff. But there must be more! So to dig a little deeper I went to Australia – in a "magic of the internet" kind of way – and asked former touring pro, current wine aficionado and writer for the Australian Golf Digest Grant Dodd to share a few insights from Ogilvy's native land (a Whiffling Straits exclusive!) ...
