Beating Friend in Final, Ogilvy Wins Second Accenture Match Play Title
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Geoff Ogilvy, right, with his caddie, Alastair Mattison, after he beat Paul Casey, 4 and 3.
As he negotiated golf’s peaks and valleys, Geoff Ogilvy’s self-belief used to fade in and out like a cellphone signal. One bad shot could lead to a few dropped strokes.
So on Sunday, in the Accenture Match Play Championship final against Paul Casey, it was instructive to see how Ogilvy handled the situation when his drive on the 11th hole came to rest in the prickliest of places, under a jumping cholla cactus.
Instead of getting grumpy with himself, as he might have in the past, Ogilvy grinded out an improbable par with a long chip-in to win the hole. Later, both players pointed to that as the tipping point in Ogilvy’s 4-and-3 victory at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club.
“I mean, a textbook match play hole, really,” Ogilvy said, laughing. He added, “Almost a comedy of errors match play hole that ended my way.”
That is Ogilvy, as self-deprecating as the desert vistas are wide. The sun set early on Casey’s hopes of notching his first PGA Tour win because Ogilvy, for all his humility, was prideful under pressure. He did not allow himself a bogey in the 36-hole final.
Instead of getting grumpy with himself, as he might have in the past, Ogilvy grinded out an improbable par with a long chip-in to win the hole. Later, both players pointed to that as the tipping point in Ogilvy’s 4-and-3 victory at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club.
“I mean, a textbook match play hole, really,” Ogilvy said, laughing. He added, “Almost a comedy of errors match play hole that ended my way.”
That is Ogilvy, as self-deprecating as the desert vistas are wide. The sun set early on Casey’s hopes of notching his first PGA Tour win because Ogilvy, for all his humility, was prideful under pressure. He did not allow himself a bogey in the 36-hole final.
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