Ogilvy Almost at Even Money After Grabbing Lead at Australian Open

Geoff Ogilvy shot a second round 65 to snatch the lead from Matthew Griffin at the Australian Open in Sydney.

Couple that with a 68 in round one, Ogilvy stands at (-11) thru 36 holes and is now the prohibitive favourite with the bookmakers.

It’s no surprise that the books look to Ogilvy to be the favourite at (11-10) heading to the weekend.  He’s easily the most accomplished player in the field and the only major champion to make the cut this week.

Despite the fact he’s only got a one shot lead over Matt Jones, there’s not a man near the top of the leaderboard that could be picked as a serious threat to challenge Ogilvy. 

Although, this is the Australian Open and the laundry list of anonymous Aussies near the top of the leaderboard will certainly be pumped at the prospect of getting a life changing win on home soil.

The only other Australian with a professional record of note is John Senden and he’s only four back after carding a 71 to stand at (-7).

His best finish this season on the American tour was an 8th at the Deutsche Bank Championship where he beat the likes of Matt Kuchar, Vijay Singh and Tiger Woods.  If he can beat a collection of the world’s best players, there’s no reason he can’t take a run at Ogilvy.

The books haven’t written off the man from Queensland as he stands at (10-1).

Second on the betting board is the 32-year old Matt Jones.  The books putting him at (4-1) seems more than fair as he’s been plying his trade on the PGA Tour against the best players in the world.

Jones put together a very respectable season in the USA in 2010.  He had five top-10 finishes on his way to earning over $1.2-million. 

There’s a feeling that Jones doesn’t have the ‘closing instinct’, but standard reasoning can be dangerous in the patriotism fueled atmosphere surrounding a player’s national open.

One notable is Dudley Hart.  The long-time PGA Tour veteran is tied with Senden at (-7) and is surely desperate to put up a good result.

The resident of Clarence, New York has been struggling the past couple of seasons, but it was only two years ago he made over $2-million.  It’s a possibility he could surprise the bookies who have him at (20-1).

Golf is a fascinating game. It has taken me nearly forty years to discover that I can't play it   - Ted Ray