For Ogilvy, conquering one hole changes everything

U.S. Open champ Geoff Ogilvy was steaming after making a triple bogey on the second hole Thursday. But he was smiling after he birdied it Friday en route to a sterling 70 that boosted him to within three shots of the lead heading into Saturday.

By T.J. Auclair, PGATOUR.com Interactive Producer

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- As the sun set on a breezy and cool Friday evening at Augusta National, Geoff Ogilvy had just capped off one of the better rounds of the day -- a 2-under-par 70 -- but even in the cold, he was running on hot.

"It was good," said the Aussie, who pulled to 1 over for the tournament and is just three shots off the lead going into the weekend. "I wanted to get to even par and I did -- and then I screwed it up on the last."

That screw-up at the last was a bunker shot. After short-siding himself with a 9-iron because of a breeze that knocked his ball down, Ogilvy hit a poor third shot out of the sand that eventually resulted in a bogey.

"It was the easiest bunker shot of the year," said an annoyed Ogilvy. "I couldn't have had an easier bunker shot. I just hit it fat."

Maybe it was the chilly wind blowing into Augusta, but after a few minutes, Ogilvy finally cooled down.

"Look, if you told me at the start of the round I was going to be 1 over, I'd be perfectly happy. If you ask me in five minutes, I'll be much happier," he grinned.

There was plenty to be happy about for Ogilvy in the second round, beginning with the 575-yard, par-5 second hole. In the first round, he made a mess of the hole and wound up with a blood-boiling triple-bogey 8.

Just two holes into the 71st Masters and he was already 3 over par.

Resiliency and a magnificent short game (and a little luck) netted Ogilvy his first major championship at Winged Foot last June, so it was no surprise that he stayed strong throughout the first round at Augusta and finished with a 3-over-par 75 in some trying conditions.

There are a number of reasons why the second hole was far more enjoyable for Ogilvy in the second round. That number is 4 -- as in a birdie, or four shots better than he'd managed on Thursday.

"Four shots better," he said with a shrug of the shoulders and an approving nod of the head. "I made 4. I drove it in the fairway and it's an easier pin. I played the hole how I should today and played it textbook how you shouldn't yesterday. It was a much easier hole today."

It's no secret that Ogilvy has been a force since that U.S. Open win. In the majors, he's a top-finishing machine and figures to be a monster threat to be the first Australian to slip into a green jacket on Sunday. His worst finish in the last seven majors he's played was a tie for 28th at the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst. Other than that, he's been no worse than a tie for 16th.

With the brutally cold weather expected on the weekend, the greens -- if it's possible -- could be harder and roll faster than they have all week. What that means is a potential U.S. Open-like atmosphere, save the ankle-deep and milkshake-thick rough, which suits Ogilvy's game just fine -- even if it means going backward.

"If it plays like it did the last two hours, no one is going to be under par," he said. "I can't imagine it. I don't know if it?ll be windy like this, who knows? I know it's going to be cold. ... Now I'm in the tournament and that's all I wanted."