Ogilvy with the SBS Trophy

Rallying from a two-shot deficit with 10 holes to play Ogilvy closed with a near flawless 6-under par 67 to finish at 22-under 270, narrowly edging out South Africa’s Rory Sabbatini by a single stroke. Displaying focus, determination and consistency, Ogilvy fired four consecutive rounds in the 60's en route to his seventh career PGA Tour title, and a successful defence of last year’s SBS Championship title.

He joined fellow Australian Stuart Appleby as the only other repeat winner since the tournament moved to Kapalua in 1999, and he became only the seventh player in the 58 years of the winners-only tournament to win in consecutive years.

“This is the first time I've ever defended a golf tournament, which is pretty exciting,” said Ogilvy, who collected $1.2 million for his victory.

“The first win of the year, first week with new golf clubs, brand new driver, brand new irons, perfect. I played good again.”

Ogilvy -- who had suffered a lapse in form in 2009 – burst through with a renewed confidence throughout the week, which may be partly due to his switch last month from Cobra clubs to Titleist. Ogilvy’s bag now includes Titleist MB irons, a 909D3 driver, Vokey Spin Milled wedges and a Scotty Cameron prototype putter. He is also playing the Pro V1 ball.

According to Ogilvy, he welcomed the switch to Titleist, and is pleased with the results.

“I was one of those guys who grew up with Titleist. It’s sort of like coming home,” Ogilvy said.

“Titleist made me a set of irons to my exact specifications and they came out exactly right.”

And while this year’s “Groove Rule” rollback by the R&A caused minor issues for some players in the field, Ogilvy claimed to be hardly affected by the change, noting that he has been playing with conforming grooves since September, 2009.”

“My irons have been 2010 legal the whole time. So my irons are no adjustment. I'm not going to have an iron issue like some guys. I’m pretty comfortable” explained Ogilvy, who hit a remarkable 85 per cent of greens in regulation at the event.

Outside of the bag, Ogilvy has also entered into a multi-year agreement with FootJoy, which will see him wearing FootJoy Shoes and gloves.

“I’ve been using the new products and they’re fantastic. I'm really excited to start the season in FootJoy products," he said.

With the new gear and a new confidence from winning the first tournament on the Tour calendar – combined with the absence of Tiger Woods in the foreseeable future -- the pieces would seem to be in place for Ogilvy to dominate on tour in 2010.

But after a similar start in 2009, Ogilvy’s form slowly dipped, and his world ranking dropped out of the top-10 to sit at # 14 in December.

So how will Ogilvy approach 2010, and how will he avoid a similar slump? According to Ogilvy, it starts with being aware of what went wrong in ‘09.

“I think I’ve got an awareness of where I kind of went a bit astray last year,” he explained.

“I never started as well as I did last year -- and this year it looks like I’ve started pretty well again too -- so I’ll hopefully sit down and not make the mistakes I made last year.

“I think I forced it a little bit when the game went a bit awry instead of waiting for it to come back.

“I wasn't that happy with the way I was playing until after the President's Cup. Something didn't click when I played Stricker in singles, but I had a moment of clarity, about ‘what are you trying so hard for?’ It's a ball and there is a hole. Just hit it. Just simplify it. Keep it simple the whole time.“

Ogilvy’s next event looks to be the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, held Feb 17-21 at the Ritz-Carlton GC, at Dove Mountain, Arizona. Ogilvy will aim to defend his 2009 title -- that is, if his wife Juli has given birth to the couple’s third child by then. Her due date is Feb 14.

“I’m hoping I don’t have to come with a beeper,” he quipped.

Inside the Numbers:

Geoff Ogilvy, trusting his Scotty Cameron prototype putter, led the field in Putting Average (1.639). Playing his new Titleist 909D3 driver and new set of Titleist MB irons, Ogilvy was also among the Top 10 in Greens in Regulation (85%).

Interesting Tidbit: Fellow Titleist Brand Ambassador Steve Stricker recorded the longest drive of the event, coming in at 424 yards on the 516-yard 7th hole in Round 2.

Inside Ogilvy's Bag

Ball: Pro V1
Driver: Titleist 909D3 (9.5)
Fairways: Cobra S9-1 fairway metals (15, 18)
Irons: Titleist MB irons (3-9)
Wedges: Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C pitching (50), sand (55) and lob (60) wedges.
Putter: Scotty Cameron prototype