Associated Press
ATLANTA ó Just being among the 30 players at the Tour Championship should be enough for Geoff Ogilvy.
Only 16 days ago, Ogilvy was on the verge of being eliminated from the FedEx Cup playoffs. Needing a par-birdie finish at the TPC Boston, his tee shot on the 17th hole finished in a crevice behind a rock and he had to take a penalty drop.
What followed is still hard to fathom.
Ogilvy rolled in a 20-footer for par, then holed a 6-foot birdie putt to narrowly advance to the next playoff event outside Chicago. Then, he finished alone in third at Cog Hill ó a two-way tie for third would not have been enough ó to book a trip to East Lake.
ěI definitely wasnít thinking of being here when I was in that hole,î Ogilvy said Wednesday. ěSo the fact that I am is pretty nice.î
He is No. 24 among the 30 players who reached the Tour Championship, and while mathematically they all have a shot at the $10 million bonus for winning the FedEx Cup, the higher seeds have the greater odds.
Webb Simpson is the top seed, followed by Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Luke Donald and Matt Kuchar. If any of them win, they are assured golfís richest prize.
Ogilvyís hopes require a little more math. It starts with him winning, and the odds got even longer the more he studied the other scenarios that must unfold.
ěWebb Simpson must finish 17th or worse, which is probably not going to happen, you wouldnít think,î he said, reading from a chart. ěDustin Johnson has to finish sixth or worse. Justin and Luke have to finish fourth or worse, which isnít going to happen because Luke doesnít finish out of the top three anymore, does he?î
Thatís when he shifted to a prize that might be just as meaningful.
ěIíd love to win this golf tournament,î Ogilvy said. ěThat would be nice because people are forgetting this one of the tourís special golf tournaments ó The Players Championship, the Tour Championship, the Tournament of Champions. Itís still the Tour Championship, and it would be pretty special to have a Tour Championship on your mantle.î