Geoff Ogilvy down and out in Australian PGA Championship 2012
Geoff Ogilvy is still in contention if he can keep just that: his contention.
In round two, Ogilvy and Matthew Griffin shared the second slot, as Popovic scorched around the Palmer Coolum Resort with a mighty 7-under 64 in the first round and a 2-under 70 in the second.
His play carries the unmistakable hint of the one’s return to the game charged with vengeance.
Earlier he had been considerably upset thanks to his father’s ill health and had considered giving up golf temporarily.
His father has not been about to see him play this tournament either (he was at a local hospital). Popovic’s striking birdie blitz, however, had his mother teary-eyed from watching her son charge forward to take the lead.
Popovic has maintained lead well into the third round as well (at least against those, like Ogilvy or Chinaman Zhang , who matter).
Can Geoff Ogilvy make a difference? Unlikely story.
His third round outcome had him slip many places to no. 9, where he is joined by Robert Allenby and Zhang Xin Jun.
The third round opened with a birdie but a hole down, the Australian slipped for a bogey on the par-5 third hole. He did not card another birdie again until after the first nine, on the 12th par-5 hole.
On the 14th hole, he double bogeyed which ensured an even par end to the round.
If anything, Ogilvy ought to be repeating the eagles he ‘flew’ on the first round, but, judging by what is up on the leaderboard, his performance is all out of gas.
The first round finished at 5-under 67 and Ogilvy ought to have kept that score level as the others have had. It is imperative to maintain good scores for all rounds.
Although an exceptional first round, like the one Ogilvy had on Thursday, he can go a long way to ease the pressure off in the rounds ahead.
If performances nose dive (and the term is used relatively here), as they did in the other two rounds, things have a way of getting ugly fast.
Standing on no. 9, for Ogilvy, they just have.
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