Geoff Ogilvy makes first TOUR start since 2018 at Barracuda Championship

TRUCKEE, Calif. – Geoff Ogilvy lights up when posed a question about golf course architecture.

The eight-time PGA TOUR winner hasn’t made a TOUR start in four years, but the father of three has found professional fulfillment through his work as a director with OCM Golf, involved in variety of course design projects and restorations, as well as his Geoff Ogilvy Foundation to support junior golf in Australia.

“How long have you got?” joked Ogilvy when asked to describe his design philosophy. “This is a book.

“We don’t like punitive stuff. If we had a loose idea, you’d love to bring the 18-handicapper and the scratch golfer closer together. The great courses do that … Augusta, Pebble Beach, the Old Course at St. Andrews where they’re playing (The Open) this week. Those courses are generally relatively achievable for the 18-handicapper, but the pros really struggle and it’s really tough … That would be philosophically that way, but it’s a very, very broad subject.”

A few years back, Ogilvy stepped away from life as a touring pro, admittedly jaded by the week-in, week-out grind. After stepping away, though, he finds himself reinvigorated as he prepares to make his TOUR return at this week’s Barracuda Championship, the site of his most recent TOUR win in 2014.

Ogilvy received a sponsor exemption into the field at Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood), the PGA TOUR’s only event that featured a Modified Stableford points system. He has made three competitive starts in Australia earlier this year – including a T41 at the TPS Victoria Hosted by Geoff Ogilvy – but he hasn’t played an OWGR-sanctioned event outside of Australia or New Zealand since 2018.

He hadn’t planned on a four-year hiatus. Ogilvy and his family moved back to Australia after the 2018 TOUR season – “the kids have been going to school there, and it’s really cool.” His three children – Phoebe, Harvey and Jasper – are all between ages 12 and 15.

COVID got in the way of one-off TOUR events in recent years, with travel between Australia and the United States marked particularly difficult due to testing and quarantine requirements.

But with restrictions eased somewhat, the Barracuda Championship marked an appropriate week for a return. He has always enjoyed the altitude and vibes of the Reno-Tahoe region, and the memories linger from his 2014 victory, accruing 49 points in the Modified Stableford format for a five-point win over Justin Hicks.

“I’d been on the go since I was a late teenager traveling around playing golf, and golf is a frustrating game,” remarked Ogilvy. “It can wear you out. And when it’s your job and you’ve got kids at home and you just want to be home, and you’re five, six weeks in a row and you miss another cut and you’re sitting in a hotel room, it just gets old. When your kids are calling you up saying, ‘I did this today; I did that today’ … there are better things in life than struggling and digging holes on the range.

“In that sense, I think anyone who stays out here for 10, 15, 20 or so years is going to have periods where they feel like that. I had a great run. I played really well. I scratched my itch. I'd love to sort of get back amongst it and get in contention a few more times and sort of … but I wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't. I'm glad I have the opportunity to be able to do this every now and then and play a little bit. If I play a little bit more, that's great, but I'm loving being dad at home and I'm loving the architecture, and the foundation stuff we're doing with the junior golfers is really good down there.”

Ogilvy, 45, didn’t intend to flat-out retire, just to scale back and pursue other areas of interest. He foresees making occasional starts moving forward, just not returning to the full-time schedule of a touring pro.

He’ll also travel to Charlotte for the Presidents Cup this September, where he’ll serve as an assistant captain to Trevor Immelman for the International Team. He has served as assistant captain twice previously and also competed in three Presidents Cups (2007, 2009, 2011). He describes the Presidents Cup as his “favorite tournament by a mile,” particularly enjoying the camaraderie developed inside the team room.

This week, he’ll devote his energies to playing his best golf at the Barracuda Championship. It’s a long-awaited return, and he has enjoyed the conversations with dozens of players, caddies and reps whom he hasn’t seen in a few years.

Afterward, it’s back to the new phase of life that he has built very much around the game – just not always inside the ropes.

“I’m dad first now,” said Ogilvy, “and someone who will play golf every now and then.”