The circus shouldn’t come to town.
If Geoff Ogilvy had his way, he’d make sure the Big Top
was parked as far from the city limits as possible.
Ogilvy has called on Tiger Woods to make sure there
isn’t a media circus when the disgraced world’s No.
1-ranked golfer makes his comeback to the game.
There is no set date on when Woods might re-emerge after the
disclosures of infidelities in his private life. Sergio Garcia,
speaking here before the PGA European Tour’s first of three
consecutive Middle East events, thinks it will be “earlier
than what everybody thinks.” Ogilvy said it could be a week
or a month.
The Australian went further than speculating on his return.
He said it should be as far removed from a golf tournament as
possible.
“The craziness is going to go on because there’s
going to be non-golf media around, and that’s always
interesting,” Ogilvy said. “That first week he comes
back, it’s going to be a circus. It will be hard if you have
to play with him that week, for sure.”
Woods has never allowed his focus to wander to other players
during his time at the top. However, Ogilvy thinks he should go out
of his way to make sure that his fellow pros are inconvenienced as
little as possible.
“The least amount of circus he could face would be if
he went to Augusta first. That would be the most controlled
environment he could be in. But if he truly, truly wants to win
Augusta, he’s going to have to play before then.
“I think he should come out in public before, not at, a
golf tournament. He should come out away from the golf course, one,
out of respect for all of the other players, and two, to defuse the
circus part of it, at least before he actually gets to the golf
tournament.
“That would be the best thing for him, for every other
player and for the tournament. I don’t believe a lot of
tournaments want all the tabloid media floating around.
“It would be nice if he came out away from a golf
tournament, and when he came out to a golf tournament it would
still be big and crazy but that tabloid edge might be gone.”
There has been a lot of speculation about how Woods will be
treated when he comes back to the game. Colin Montgomerie is one
who has publicly stated that Woods’ aura will be gone. Ogilvy
tends to agree.
“The first conference he does is going to be a crazy
one. A lot of people who have been afraid to ask questions for 10
to 12 years won’t be quite as hesitant to ask questions as
they used to be.
“He’s going to have to answer questions.”
Ogilvy has a couple of questions he’d like to ask Woods
himself. Number one is, “What were you thinking?”
Number two is the same question everyone is asking right now.
“Most guys are just wondering where he is.’’
“Everyone wants him back. Golf tournaments are more
enjoyable when he’s there. It’s not a hollow victory
when you win when he’s not there, but it’s a lot better
when you win when he is there.”
The golf world is small, but it was caught out just like the
rest of the public when Woods’ private life was revealed.
Ogilvy, too.
“I’m just amazed. Everyone thought he just left
the golf course and went to his hotel. I didn’t even know he
went out. How did nobody know?”
Only Woods can answer the questions circulating since he
smashed his SUV into a fire hydrant on Nov. 27 outside of his home
near Orlando, Fla. Whether the world gets the true answers
won’t be known until he comes out of hiding.
Ogilvy hopes the circus that will come with that appearance
does not disrupt the game.
