Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Geoff Ogilvy is keen for Tiger Woods to come through his spell in the rough and get back on the golf course as soon as possible.

With new allegations of off-course affairs following his now infamous car crash last week, Tiger is still in hiding and even pulled out of his own tournament this week.

The world No.1 has been issued with a $100 traffic fine for careless driving, but will not face criminal charges.

However, with his personal life now under the microscope, there will be even more pressure on sport’s first $1 billion man when he eventually comes out of hiding.

But Ogilvy, who tees it up in the Australian Open today, has defended his fellow professional and believes Woods’ golfing goals will not bunkered by his personal problems.

“He seems comfortable with it, to be honest,” said Ogilvy, who is Australia’s top-ranked player.

“It’s an incredible life that he has. He’s been in a fishbowl before he turned pro - or the instant he turned pro - I wouldn’t want that existence that he’s got, it’s pretty tough.

“He’s obviously finding out how big a star he is.

“It’s an interesting situation. Hopefully it goes away and we get back to watching him play golf.”

Meanwhile, Tiger maybe absent from his own tournament - the Chevron World Challenge - but those present are still talking about him. And one player who has jumped to his defence is Padraig Harrington.

The world No.5 believes the whole thing has been blown out of proportion.

“I’ve learned a few new websites this week,” he said. “It is what it is because of how good he is.

“He was in a car crash and he was injured.

The rest is just speculation.

It won’t stop people from guessing and questioning. When you’re the biggest sports star in the world, it goes with the territory.”