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Australia’s top-ranked golfer Geoff Ogilvy doesn’t believe a victory at The Open this week would be a hollow one in the absence of Tiger Woods.
Woods is out of the tournament at Royal Birkdale – and the rest of the season – as he recuperates from knee surgery after playing through the pain barrier to win the US Open.
World No.3 Ogilvy says his own will to win hasn’t changed.
“I don’t want to win this any more now just because he (Woods) is not there,” Ogilvy said.
“He’s obviously the best golfer in the world, maybe the best golfer ever – very hard to beat – but I don’t think the British Open is going to be easy to win.”
Woods’ close friend Mark O’Meara, who won The Open the last time it was held at Royal Birkdale in 1998, agrees.
“As great as Tiger Woods is, and as much of a fan as I am of Tiger’s, even Tiger would have to admit this: No player is bigger than the game itself, not even Tiger,” O’Meara said.
“(But) he’s going to be sorely missed, there’s no denying it.”
Meanwhile, for Ogilvy, a week isn’t such a long time in golf.
He has not played since the US Open at Torrey Pines a month ago, where he finished in a tie for ninth, opting to take some time out with his family in California.
“We’re all go from basically the first week of January to the end of December, you’ve got to find a break somewhere,” said the 2006 US Open winner.
“Ideally you’d maybe not have four weeks off between majors but I don’t think it will affect how I’m going to play here and it’s definitely going to help me be fresher here and fresher in the PGA in a couple of weeks’ time and fresher towards the end of the year.”
The 31-year-old does not believe the break will prove to have done him any harm once The Open starts on Thursday.
“In the middle of the season, you don’t drop off too much with a couple of weeks off,” Ogilvy said.
“A week after the US Open it felt like we’d finished the day before.
“The majors, they’re stressful deals and one major feels like three normal weeks.”
Ogilvy will be playing his sixth Open, having tied for fifth in 2005 and tied for 16th in 2006, but also missing the cut three times.
He has spent the past week playing on links courses around Birkdale and had his first practice round at the Championship course in cool, overcast and windy conditions today.
“It’s tough,” he said.
“The rough, because of the way the rain’s been, it’s very long.
“If it plays like it did today, on what I would have said was a pretty normal day for summer here, then under par will be a really good score.”
Ogilvy is among 18 Australians taking part in the 137th edition of The Open.
Others include world No.4 Adam Scott, Greg Norman, who has not played a major since 2005 and Craig Parry, who will lead out the tournament after being drawn in the first group to tee off at 6.30am local time on Thursday (1530 AEST).