WGC BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL

August 23, 2006

Geoff Ogilvy

CHRIS REIMER: Geoff, thanks for joining us. Why don't you talk a little bit about the course out there today and yesterday. You got to play this week?

GEOFF OGILVY: I played yesterday. It's good. As usual, it's in pretty impressive position. The tees are like greens out there, the fairways are perfect, greens are perfect. The rough isn't as thick as it was last year, which a nice thing, I think. Generally when you're in the rough here you've got to go around a tee because it's so teed in any way so it's nice to have some sort of a chance out of it.

The greens are fast, faster than last week, and they're pretty slopey, so it's going to be fun.

Q. First time here?

GEOFF OGILVY: Second time here.

Q. Other time would have been?

GEOFF OGILVY: Last year.

Q. From winning Tucson?

A. No, from Top 50 in the World Ranking.

Q. The match play this year was clearly your biggest win to date. Does it take any more value out of being a World Golf champion? Formats are different, fields are smaller. Where do you rank these things?

GEOFF OGILVY: There's four normal field Tour events. THE PLAYERS Championship feels bigger than these just because it's a full field. Sometimes full fields feel stronger and sometimes short fields feel stronger.

There's obviously a bigger edge to win. They're probably still somewhere just below that Players Championship level, just above the normal regular Tour events, but not quite at that level. You know what I mean? They're pretty strong. Sometimes full fields make events stronger and sometimes short fields make tournaments more elite kind of thing. I think everyone wants to win these tournaments.

Q. Does this feel strong or elite?

GEOFF OGILVY: A mixture of both. Last week's field is obviously one of the strongest fields in golf. It's basically the Top 500 in the world. This is the Top 50 in the world and a whole bunch of other good players, so it's a pretty strong field. If you get into any tournament with the Top 50 in the world, you're doing pretty well, but I think it's pretty strong.

Q. Next year this is the week before the PGA. I just wondered if you think people would consider not coming if they don't play the week before a major.

GEOFF OGILVY: I think everyone who gets into this will want to play. I might be wrong. I haven't heard many people say that they didn't like the golf course. Most guys don't there's other guys who don't play a week before a major, but this is a pretty good week to play before a major because it could easily be a PGA out there the way the course is set up.

I think most guys will play. There might be a couple of guys who wouldn't play, but it wouldn't be many. A very small handful I would have thought at the most. Tiger will actually play here because this is his benefit tournament. He seems to win here every year. He comes, and that generally makes everyone else come, too. He doesn't like playing the week before a major, but I'd be really shocked if he didn't play here. I think before or after wherever this fits into the schedule, people are going to come and play here, I think.

Q. What do you think is allowing you to do what you've done in the majors? I don't have your record in front of me, but I don't imagine you finished out of the Top 20 in probably the last five.

GEOFF OGILVY: Since Pinehurst last year it's been pretty good. I don't know. I mean, more than the fact that I could say all my reasons would be that they would work for everyone else. I know everyone really enjoys the majors, so I don't think that makes me different. I enjoy them. I like the courses we play. Generally you're playing some of the better golf courses in the world. It just makes me have a better attitude because there's only four of them a year. A regular Tour event if it starts going awry after nine holes there's always another one next week, whereas the majors you don't have another chance at this tournament for another year, so you've got to have a better attitude.

It forces me into my ideal attitude, I think. I just really enjoy them, just prepare harder for them.

Q. Winning aside, which was more enjoyable, the U.S. or the PGA? I know it's asking a lot taking winning aside, but in terms of how it

GEOFF OGILVY: The PGA, the first two days was a lot of fun. The whole tournament was a lot of fun last week, I thought. It rained on Friday, and I still had a great time. You don't have a great time on the golf course when it rains usually, but we had a lot of fun. I mean, how could you not have fun? It was craziness. To be inside the ropes for that, it was awesome.

Winning aside, obviously winning the U.S. Open was quite a lot of fun. Winning the U.S. Open is a lot of fun after you're finished. The U.S. Open is a fun tournament when you're done. Even if you don't win, you finish 30th, it's still fun when you're done. When you're playing it doesn't seem like a lot of fun at a U.S. Open because it's so hard. It's like high school. You didn't like it when you were there, but when you left you realized you had quite a loft fun.

Last week I had a great time. You couldn't have a better I mean, a big city, the two most marketable, the two best players in the world, the guys that draw the two biggest crowds, the guys you've been looking for that you want to start fighting on the 1st tee, just the whole everything, the whole buildup to it was fun to be a part of it and sit in the middle of that crowd and play well, too. It wouldn't have been as much fun if I didn't play well, though.

Q. When is the last time you played with Phil?

GEOFF OGILVY: I think I played with him in Byron Nelson last year on Sunday. I think he played quite well, finished 3rd or 4th or something. I don't remember who won there.

Q. It was Ted Purdy.

GEOFF OGILVY: Yeah, that week, I think that year we played on Sunday in the eighth to the last group or something.

Q. You didn't see much of him this year at all then?

GEOFF OGILVY: I hadn't played with him at all this year, no. I mean, obviously he's on TV every second week because he's in contention. But that's the first time I've played with him in over a year.

Q. There's always questions with Phil as it gets to this stage in the season, which is hibernation time, game shuts down getting ready for next year. I wonder if you saw anything different at the PGA?

GEOFF OGILVY: I have to be honest, I think he was struggling with his golf swing. It was quite obvious really. I think he was struggling early in the year. After The Masters the U.S. Open he definitely wasn't on top of his game. He didn't look like it at the range. And by all reports he didn't hit it as straight as he wanted to in the last round. You could tell he was struggling with his golf swing at the U.S. Open. It's unbelievable how far he went in contention. It's ridiculous.

I don't know if he ever fully found it because he didn't look like he was very comfortable with his golf swing last week. I don't think that's the reason why he's not playing as well, because of the hibernation thing. I think he's just struggling with his game, really.

Q. From our standpoint looking ahead toward the Ryder Cup

GEOFF OGILVY: I'll be fine in the Ryder Cup. He can hit it somewhere he wants. He still wants ways to make pars and birdies. He would be a tough guy to play match play, I would think. He'll probably stay off out and practice until then and then throw the clubs in the closet. I'll have to play a month longer than he usually does. He would be a nightmare to play match play because he seems to make putts from all over for par and get it up and down and when he's on the fairway he's always got a good birdie putt. He's the second best player in the world. He's going to do all right, I think.

Q. Speaking of this time of year, what do you have planned for the rest of the year?

GEOFF OGILVY: I'm actually this is my last tournament for about eight weeks actually just because my wife is having a baby. I mean, I'd like to be playing more but my wife is having a baby. You don't have babies every day, so I have the opportunity to spend some time at home and see it so I'm going to spend some time. Maybe the TOUR Championship potentially I might play Tampa the week before TOUR Championship, but it all depends on how the baby stuff goes.

Q. You're going back home?

GEOFF OGILVY: Scottsdale, Arizona. I mean, that's our home over here.

Q. When is the baby due?

GEOFF OGILVY: First week in October, so six weeks from now or something, so any time from a couple weeks' time. I don't need to be playing, and it would be an annoying thing if you weren't there and you were just playing a golf tournament just because you wanted to be.

As I said, you don't have babies every day. From TOUR Championship on, next year I can play quite a full schedule.

Q. What's the end of the year look like for you?

A. Yeah, pretty good, TOUR Championship, two in Australia, the Grand Slam in Hawaii, maybe Tiger's tournament in LA. That's about it, I think.

Q. Which two in Australia?

GEOFF OGILVY: The Australian Open and the Australian PGA. I never need any encouragement to play the Australian Open because it's our most prestigious tournament. We all want to win it. The Australian PGA is in a pretty cool spot, in Coolum on the Sunshine Coast.

Q. Where is the Open this year?

GEOFF OGILVY: Sydney.

Q. What are you going to do the two weeks between, come back here?

GEOFF OGILVY: The Grand Slam is the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday after the Australian Open.

And that will be Julie's first week on the road after the baby so we might spend a couple days in Hawaii and then go to the Sunshine Coast early and go back and play Coolum.

Q. You were talking about maybe playing the World Cup with Scottie. What the in the end made you decide not to play that?

GEOFF OGILVY: The fact that it went up against the Australian PGA, really. Spending a week in Barbados sounded pretty appealing. I think most people would be pretty happy with that.

But the Australian Tour, that's it's the wrong year for me to not play as many as I can in Australia. And if me and Scottie can make the tournament better and help make it a better tournament, then we should do it.

The Sunshine Coast is a nice place. It's almost like going to Barbados. Scottie is from Queensland, too. He's playing three in Australia, which is big from him. I wanted to spend another week in Australia because I don't get as many weeks in Australia and I wanted to play the Australian Tour again, more events. It's just a shame it clashed with a cool event.

Q. So you're not playing Sun City?

GEOFF OGILVY: No.

Q. Why?

GEOFF OGILVY: Five week old baby and too much flying. I know when you watch players in my situation every year or every few years, someone comes out and all of a sudden raises their profile a bit more and so they're going to get into the silly season events.

A lot of guys, I think, play too many of them, and that was one of my things is to not play too many of them, really. If I didn't just have a baby it would be quite perfect, really. I'd just be flying all over the place playing everywhere and I'd probably be shattered before I got to Hawaii. This way the schedule is nice. I've gotten days off. It's a long way from Australian and then to Johannesburg and then to here again. That's a full lap around the world in two weeks.

Q. Have you allowed yourself to look at next year with the schedule changes and think what your off season would be like? Would you play more in Australia do you think every year?

GEOFF OGILVY: The Australian events are still going to be at the same time. We're going to have much more opportunity. It's going to be much easier because we're going to finish in about three or four weeks from now, really, next year. So there's going to be three months at the end of every year to fill.

I'm sure there's going to be a lot of golf tournaments pop up that are going to be attractive to play. The Australian tournaments, they're going to have a better chance to get some guys. It's almost going to be a good place for people to warm up for the year after next. Most guys don't like to play three months off and do something. The schedule is really good. The off season is going to be longer.

But as I said, I'm sure there's going to be all sorts of golf tournaments popping up. Europe is going to put some strong events, China is probably going to have some big events. I'm sure it's Australia I don't know if they've got any more dates to play with because Europe, they're going to probably move some of the bigger events later. Asia is getting stronger and stronger and they're going to put some things on to try to get some of us guys who are done playing here to play somewhere else. Hopefully I'll go to the Australian Tour. I'll probably spend the last three months of the year in Australia. Whether or not I play golf, I'll probably spend three months in Australia, which will be nice.

Q. Where do you live?

GEOFF OGILVY: In Australia? Melbourne.

Q. Have you in the two months since winning at Winged Foot, have you felt the temptations and noticed the impact of winning a major offer wise, hounded with one opportunity after another?

GEOFF OGILVY: Yeah, I mean, the amount of I mean, there's a lot of stuff that's come in in two months, all sorts of stuff. The amount of stuff people send to you in your locker to sign every week is quite incredible.

Q. How many flags last week?

GEOFF OGILVY: It's unbelievable. I don't know. I sign some of those things, it's unbelievable. The people at Getty Images must sell a lot of photos to people because people are pulling them from everywhere, photos that I can't believe that they get. I don't know where they get them from. There's lots of stuff.

Obviously you can fill your schedule to play every week and do something every week and be all over the place. But, like I said, I think a few guys have done that and suffered, so we'll try to pick and choose the ones that will be fun, the ones that will help me out long term. I don't want to play too many. I'm not in this to be the richest person in the world; I just want to play golf. I'll find the good golf courses, places I wanted to go to.

Q. What are the odds Tiger would go down to the Aussie Open next year, and if he did, what's it going to get him to play?

GEOFF OGILVY: It would be big. I don't know if it's possible. It takes a lot to get him. I don't know what the numbers are, but it takes a lot of encouragement (laughter). New Zealanders are encouraging him not to do. It would be massive. He's already been down there once. Was it the end of '96 or '97 he played twice, the Australian Open and the Australian Masters, and it was huge. It would be huge now because he's done a bit since '96. It would be big. I don't know if it's possible. It's a long way in the off season for him to go.

Q. Money the bigger issue? Encouragement, excuse me.

GEOFF OGILVY: The encouragement, it would be hard to find someone the encouragement would be as much as the prize money would be at least, title purse.

Q. What would be the harder part, the encouragement or maybe the feelings of some of the other boys who get nothing, the Robert Allenbys, yourself, Adam, feeling like, wait a minute, what are you doing for me?

GEOFF OGILVY: I've never had those feelings. If someone can add to a tournament you can encourage them as much as you like, it doesn't bother me. I see why encouragement could be detrimental to some it would be very detrimental to this Tour if it happens, but down in Australia, it's necessary, it is.

I mean, you could get ten really, really, really good players. You could encourage ten players to come, really, really good players for the same price as one. I mean, where do you start? Do you put it into the purse? Do you put it into I don't know, you've got to weigh it up. Do you try to get the best Australian players, every Australian player in the tournament? Is that going to be better for the tournament than having him there?

I don't know. It might be. Kids in Australia might want to see Adam Scott more than they want to see Tiger. Probably not, but there's a lot of kids that would. Or Stuart or even normal playing Australian Open would be big. There's probably a lot of kids that haven't seen him play.

It would be cool. I mean, I understand why Tiger is like that because he probably tries to get there's probably five tournaments a week trying to get him, and he's got to set a high level of encouragement because to try to discourage people I mean, it's an easy way to say no, just find a level that they can't get to. It's an easy way to just say no and say, well, I can't.

There's big tax in Australia. He's living in Florida, that's four hours away. It's a long way. It's always around Thanksgiving time and it's in the off season, and there's a lot of things all the reasons why Australia struggles to get some big name players down there now because in the old days when the tournaments here were $500,000 tournaments, the tournaments in Australia were $500,000 and the currencies were quite similar. The Tour here wasn't as long.

Guys didn't have anything to do for three months so they'd go play in Australia. They could go play eight tournaments and have a great off season, spend the summer in Australia, and it worked out pretty well for a lot of guys. Now tournaments in Australia are still similar prize money and they're they've gone up 25 times and the tax is big and people have filled up their bank accounts during the year and don't want to fly that far in the world. It's a shame, but that's the reality of it, I guess.

Q. Do you know where it is next year?

GEOFF OGILVY: The Australian Open? I haven't heard, actually. Sydney this year, so it's probably Melbourne. I don't know.

Q. It's a sad thing when I'm looking to Bothy instead of you for the answer.

GEOFF OGILVY: If it's in Sydney this year, it would be in Melbourne next year. It might be Kingston Heath or Royal Melbourne or something. Pretty good courses. It's always at a good course. That's the best encouragement we've got for playing on our best golf courses. People might want to come to Royal Melbourne and play.

If you played a small prize money event at Shinnecock every year, everyone would go, you know what I mean? Or a Pinehurst or something, everyone would go. The golf course has got a lot to do with getting guys there, and we've got a couple of golf courses they play, Royal Melbourne every year, you might want to go, even for less encouragement (laughter).

CHRIS REIMER: Geoff, thanks. Good luck.

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