Ogilvy stamps title as World's best in Match Play

Geoff Ogilvy won his second Accenture WGC Match Play Championship in four years Sunday, defeating Englishman Paul Casey 4&3 to earn the title as the World's best in golf's most unique format.

In a week where Tiger Woods made headlines by returning to the PGA Tour, Ogilvy proved not the main attraction, but instead the main man in the Arizona desert by clinching the 33-hole victory.

Summing his consistently dominant performance, Ogilvy led the final 62 holes he played in the event and didn't card a bogey in the final 57 he played. That, my friends, is winning golf.

On a somewhat unrelated note, I had the chance to meet Ogilvy earlier this year during the week of the Mercedes Championships, which he went on to win days later. He was leaving a restaurant in Maui as myself, my father, a family friend, and Adam Scott's caddie, Tony Navarro, were entering for dinner.

Recognizing Navarro, he stopped, introduced himself to us, and shared a brief hello with our group. Even with family, he made time to ask where we were from and just seemed like an extremely personable, genuine guy.

I told him I was from Iowa and he asked what college I went to. I told him the University of Iowa, and without hesitation, he asked me about the Drake-Iowa basketball game in which the Hawkeyes were clobbered in Des Moines this season.

Said he had a friend in Iowa (Hawk fan) who was completely wrecked after the game and I was basically baffled in a "such a small world"-type moment that obviously haven't forgotten.

A UI student in Maui talking to Geoff Ogilvy before the first PGA Tournament of the year and all he wants to talk about is Iowa-Drake basketball. For every self-absorbed Reggie Jackson in professional sports, there is an Ogilvy and I was happy when he got another win today.

Some guys (Tiger) are machine-like during tournament week, down to the numbered balls they play and what they eat for breakfast before the round. Truth is, they were all just regular people at one time or another and it was refreshing to just meet and shake hands with him.

Back with more later this week from an expectedly Tiger-free Tour at the Honda Classic.

Photo Courtesy/Robert Vulch/SI