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PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 17, 2006

Geoff Ogilvy

MEDINAH, ILLINOIS

KELLY ELBIN: Reigning U.S. Open Champion, Geoff Ogilvy, ladies and gentlemen, in with a 3 under par 69 in the first round of the 88th PGA Championship.

Geoff, comments on the marquis pairing of the day, and your round in particular, please.

GEOFF OGILVY: Yeah, it was fun, what do you say, to play in that group. All of you guys I guess and everyone and the fans have been waiting to see those two play together in a major for a while. And I got the best seat in the house, so it was fun. Crazy, I guess you would say; early it was quite crazy. Quite dignified inside the ropes but quite crazy outside the ropes I'm sure. And we all played quite well. I mean, I started well and then fell in a hole and then played really well on the back nine. And Tiger played pretty consistent the whole time and Phil played pretty well the whole time, too, so it was good fun.

KELLY ELBIN: Would you mind going through your card, please.

GEOFF OGILVY: 10, I drove it in the rough. Had to lay it up and hit a wedge to pitching wedge to about I guess ten feet, something like that, and made birdie, 12 feet.

12, I drove it on the fairway, had a 9 iron from a bit of a sidehill lie, it's a bit of a slopey fairway, hit it close, two feet maybe, made that.

14, I hit the perfect drive, laid it up terribly into the rough, hit it over the green from there. Hit a good chip shot to, I don't know, 12 feet or something, but missed that. So I bogeyed there.

16, I hit 2 iron into the trees left. Chipped it out, but chipped it through the fairway in the rough. Sand iron short of the green. It lands just short. Doesn't come out very well and lands just short, rolls all the way back down and I miss it. So I make double on 16.

18, I hit a 3 wood did I hit a 3 wood or a driver? I may have hit a 3 wood, I can't remember. How bad's that? 3 wood I think and 8 iron to about 12 feet and made it for birdie.

Driver off the first. Good drive sorry, I only parred that hole no, I birdied it. I hit a bad wedge shot but it was all right, pin high maybe, 20, 25 feet and made that which is a bonus.

Fourth, I hit a good drive down the middle of the fairway and hit 9 iron to about 10 feet I guess which is a bonus which is a good birdie.

5, I hit driver and 2 iron on to the green to about 30 feet and 2 putted for birdie.

6, I drove it left kind of against the fence and my ball was sitting on like new sodwork kind of against the sod and chipped it out, hit my next one short on the front of the green and 2 putted for bogey.

7, I hit a perfect drive and 2 iron to about 20 feet and 2 putted for birdie.

Q. With an atmosphere like that, do you find it disturbs your own concentration, or are you inspired to play better golf?

GEOFF OGILVY: I've generally always played better in situations like that. I think the danger is when you play with guys like that is you can become a spectator and just watch them play. Which I guess I've played with both of them a few times now, so that doesn't happen much anymore.

You can definitely get caught up and annoyed by some of the noise and stuff. You can back off the odd shot. It's not anyone's fault. It's just hard to get that many people off the golf course. You back off the odd shot and that could annoy you. That was one of the things I tried not to do, get annoyed by stuff like that, and I handled it all right.

I never played in a situation like that and it's I mean, the last U.S. Open last round, there's more tension and stuff involved, but the atmosphere this morning was pretty incredible. Then everyone was pretty excited.

Q. You had mentioned that you're kind of interested in seeing what the dynamic between those two is going to be, and there were a couple of instances where they were actually laughing and joking. Of course, I think it's when your ball is over on the fence, maybe they were laughing at how far left you hit it on that hole. I was just wondering what your experience was observing their interaction.

GEOFF OGILVY: If I didn't know any of the back story, would I have said they were two normal guys who like each other just like any other two guys out on Tour. The dynamic was exactly like probably in every group this morning. There's a bit of tension in the first round of a major, everyone's pretty serious, probably not quite as much chat as there is at the Pebble Beach Pro Am. But it was just normal. I mean, you would never know you wouldn't think they are the best of friends but you wouldn't think they didn't like each other, either, which is normal. First rounds of majors, I mean, any rounds of majors is not the most conversation going on between everyone anyway. So, I mean, it was normal.

Q. I realize it's just the first round and it's really jockeying right now, but how much competitiveness do you sense even the first day among you guys and wanting to put up the best score and perform?

GEOFF OGILVY: I don't know. I've never been I've never really been like that, wanting to make sure I've got generally most of my eye on the 72 hole total at the end. I don't know, other guys probably want to get their name up there just to have themselves up there and stuff. You just want to play well. You just want to have the lowest score you possibly can, really.

That's all I try to do every time I go out and play any tournament. You can't try harder. You just do what you know you have to do to have a good score, you know what I mean? That's all I really try to do.

Q. The pairing didn't change that?

GEOFF OGILVY: No, not really. You'd think it might be easier to have a good score in a different group, but I don't know. I think sometimes you play with those two, at least one of them or probably both of them are going to be there or thereabouts at the end of the tournament. If I come in with the same score as them at the end of every day, I'm going to be in good shape. (Laughter).

I get into that group, I'm playing with it would be very hard to say that one of them isn't going to be there right at the end. Probably both of them are going to be close. If I just tag along for the ride the first two days and stay near them, I'm in good shape, you know.

Q. A question that may border on the first couple but different. How strong does it make you or has it made you to play with Tiger and Phil today in the event that you had to play with anyone on Sunday? How strong did you come out of the pairing today?

GEOFF OGILVY: I feel really good about how I did today, if that's what you're asking. I think I did pretty well. I mean, as I was saying, it's probably I don't know, there's probably two types of people. There's probably people that play badly in a pairing like that and people that play well in a pairing like that. Most guys out here probably play better in a pairing like that because it's better than being in an aggressive it's not hard to have a good score in that sort of group. I think I did pretty well today.

Q. You said kind of all week, you feel like when you've played with Tiger or Phil, you play well. Why?

GEOFF OGILVY: I don't know. Maybe I used my brain better, John. I've been guilty of not using my brain on occasion on the golf course.

I don't know. I don't think it's I think the extra like nerves or adrenaline or whatever you get when you play with players like that, which is going to happen, is only good for you if you know how to play; it's certainly good for you. Most guys play well in situations like that, if you just get your adrenaline in the right place or something. Generally that tiny little bit of nervousness, you actually play better in that state than you do nonchalant, not even thinking about it. If you're playing with your two best friends, you probably don't focus as well. I don't know, probably brings out a focus in me that doesn't happen on a regular day. I don't know.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about the reception that you got today? It seemed, and I don't know, how did it feel, it seemed like it seemed like people were trying to be mindful of when you were putting last. For instance, on some of the first few holes, I would hear, "Poor Geoff, if he keeps putting last, people are going to keep walking." But then it seemed like you would get just as much of a reception after great shots or good putts. Did you expect that, and I guess how did that feel compared?

GEOFF OGILVY: You kind of want to not have downhill left to right three foot putts and to have been last one on the green. You want to be in the hole before they are in the hole.

It was pretty respectful out there. It didn't matter who was hitting it. They were all they were as nice to me as they were to those two guys. No one was running off any more on me than they were on anyone else, you know what I mean? That was fine. I expected it might have been a bit like that, but it wasn't at all. I mean, if I had a putt, they all hung around and watched. There was a few "Go Geoffs" in there, and there was a few "Go Phils" and "Go Tigers," but a few "Go Geoffs." One "Go Joe." (Ogilvie) I felt right at home with that, that was good.

Q. Perhaps because he goes through it almost every round, Tiger said when it started at 10, there weren't as many people or as much confusion, etc., when you guys began as maybe we expected, and it sort of grew as you continued to come closer back to the clubhouse. Had you been in anything like that before, any sort of situation?

GEOFF OGILVY: Not the first tee. I played with him last group not last group, last round, second or third last round in Flint a couple of years ago and that can get a bit nuts there and that can get pretty crazy. And they get some big crowds and they all squeeze into a small spot. I've seen bigger crowds. In Phoenix you have bigger crowds. But I've never seen anything like that at 8:30 in the morning on a tee that's two miles from the clubhouse. I thought it would build, but it was pretty solid.

The media presence, the photographers were just incredible. I didn't know there were that many cameras in Illinois. (Laughter) it was the first 100 yards, it was incredible. It was unbelievable.

Different from my normal Thursday morning tee time anyway. Quite normal for him, but quite big for me.

Q. Just following up, you've been doing interviews now for almost an hour since you finished. Are you starting to appreciate what Tiger goes through day in and day out and how it can take away time from practice and things like that?

GEOFF OGILVY: Yeah, I've always appreciated what he does. It's pretty impressive how he manages to no wonder he takes a week off after a major. It's going to be a big week for him.

Yeah, I'm getting a bit hungry. I don't know when these guys fit lunch in. Yeah, it's incredible. He's obviously been dealing with that since he was about 16, but I don't think he ever complains about it too much. He seems to understand that's his role and that's his position and that's what he has it do and handles it well. I get more of an appreciation, but I think most of us have got a pretty there's a lot of guys on Tour who don't want the attention that he gets. He handles it very well. If it's happened every week, it would be hard to play 30 events a year like this. It would be really tough.

Q. People have lumped you into the group of good young players on the rise. I'm wondering if you've played with Lucas Glover and where he fits in that, because it seems like that kid has got some pretty serious tools.

GEOFF OGILVY: I think I've played with Lucas. I'm pretty sure I have. He's a great player. He annoyed me last year when he holed a big bunker shot on the last at Disney. He was very annoying at Disney last year.

He is a great player. I think it's only one round, but I'm sure it will be I think he's earned a spot on that team. It would be really cool to see him get a Top 10 and get up there. He's a really good player. Everyone knows out here that he's a good player. He's going to win some big tournaments. He's strong, he's one of the nicest guys out here, everyone loves him. It would be great to see him get on the team. I don't want to see anyone get knocked out but it would be cool to see him go on the tee. Even if he finished at 11th, he was one of the players Tom was looking at before this week anyway because he's a pretty strong guy.

KELLY ELBIN: Geoff Ogilvy, thank you very much.

End of FastScripts.

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