The Mercedes Championship is now known as the SBS Championship and Geoff Ogilvy has shifted from Acushnet brand Cobra to Titleist but his $1,120,000 winners check looked pretty familiar as we won the season-opening 2010 SBS Championship earlier today.
"I'm really, really happy and excited that I could get it done," the elated Ogilvy said after he two-putted the final green for the victory. "I needed to make birdies and I did; it was fun." In winning his 7th PGA Tour event Ogilvy tore through the Kapalua layout, much like he did in 2009 (when he was a wire-to-wire winner), punishing the par fives and making wedge after wedge dance near the cup to put him within birdie range.
He ranked number one this week in putts per round at 28.8. Having played the course in 46 under par over the last two years (including -22 this time around, 69-66-68-67-270), Ogilvy showed that his game is back in top form. After a hot start in 2009 he admits that his game faltered throughout the rest of the season but a lot of work has put him back on course. He can now look ahead to 2011 when he will have a chance tie the three-peat record of fellow Australian Stuart Appleby – the SBS winner from 2004-2006. Ogilvy was certainly in the mix at day's start but most eyes were fixed on 2009 U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover who rose up to take the lead through 3 rounds. Glover has two tour wins, but both from behind, and showed that he was not ready to win from the lead position as he melted down to an atrocious 76 on the par 73 Plantation Course Layout. That round looked even more appaling when you consider that Rory Sabbatini was taking the course apart with 10 birdies at the very same time. The South African, who won the 2009 HP Byron Nelson Championship to make the field at Maui, posted a very clean 63 that eventually left him in second place at 21 under-par.
His missed a short birdie putt on the last that could have earned him a playoff tangle with Ogilvy. Another player had a real chance of contending for the SBS Championship trophy but failed at a critical time. Sean O'Hair was in fine position to reach the 18th green in two and a chance to improve his score of 20 under par but snap hooked a ball left of green on the reachable par five. It resulted in a sour double bogey that eventually dropped him to a tie for 4th place with Scotland's Martin Laird. Ironically, although Ogilvy has moved to the Titleist line of clubs within the Acushnet family, it was a couple of his older sticks that made a big difference in this SBS Championship win. Ogilvy is still using Cobra S9-1 fairway woods (15 degrees and an 18 degree club bent to 20) and made the most of the weapons on the Plantation courses' par five holes. His birdie on the 15th hole of the final round was a perfect example. His blast from nearly 250 yards with the five wood landed just beyond the hole. The resulting two-putt birdie gave him the lead he would not relinquish. "The five woods gone really, really well for me all week….it was the right shot at the right time.," exclaimed the champion. Ogilvy topped a field of 28 players at the SBS Championship and while 20 of them will move over to Oahu to play the Sony Open at Hawaii next week that will not be the case for him. His next tournament appearance is scheduled to be at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship on the European Tour. He will also be defending his World Golf Championships -Accenture Match Play in Arizona next month.
Notes: Geoff Ogilvy's Equipment – 2010 SBS Championship (courtesy Titleist Blog)
Titleist Pro V1 golf ball
Titleist 909D3 driver (9.5°)
Cobra S9-1 fairway metal (15.0°)
CobraS9-1 fairway metal (18.0° bent to 20°)
Titleist MB irons (3-9)
Vokey Design Spin Milled pitching (50°), sand (55°) and lob (60°) wedges
Scotty Cameron Prototype putter
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