“The only way to get my bags in Tampa was to fly to Phoenix"

Doug Ferguson details Geoff Ogilvy's wild trip back to Tampa after making the cut when he thought he hadn't. Ogilvy shot 65 Saturday and joins a first rate leaderboard.

The former U.S. Open champion was having a few beers in the airport, checking the scores, making little progress. As he was boarding the plane, his position suddenly improved to a tie for 72nd – the top 70 and ties make the cut – and he then began a desperate attempt to disembark.

Getting off the plane was easy. Getting golf clubs off the plane? Not so much.

“The only way to get my bags in Tampa was to fly to Phoenix,” Ogilvy said.

The baggage handlers said the flight was too close to leaving, and to search for his luggage might mean some 50 passengers missing their connections in Houston.

Worse yet, he gave up his first-class seat to stay in Tampa, and when he realized his only choice was to fly to Phoenix, he was stuck in coach. At least they gave him an exit row.

And as Helen Ross notes, he got no sleep. Be wary of the tired golfer?

By 5:45 a.m. Ogilvy was back in his room at Innisbrook. He and a buddy were in adjoining units at the resort and he had given his friend the run of the place when he headed home rather than check out.
"I just got another key and snuck in," Ogilvy said with a grin.

Once he teed off on the Copperhead Course about three hours later, Ogilvy was grinding again. He three-putted the second hole but quickly recovered and made seven birdies -- including five on the back nine. He not only achieved his goal of making the secondary cut on Saturday, Ogilvy moved into the top 20.

"I hit a couple of goofy shots the first couple of days but I was happy with the way I played. I just didn't hole any putts," he said. "So I was kind of glad I got another crack at it. I thought I was playing quite well.

Leading up to Augusta, the more you play the better and I knew the weather was going to be nice."

Ogilvy knows he isn't the first player who left the course thinking he'd missed the cut only to have to turn around when he found out otherwise.

"It's happened to a hundred guys," Ogilvy said with a shrug. "But when you're in Tampa at the airport and your bags are there somewhere and you have to go for 5-6 hours on a plane to be able to be reunited with your bags is just ridiculous."

But it made for a pretty good story.