Kapalua victory enhances Ogilvy''s status among elite

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

KAPALUA, Hawaii (Reuters) - Geoff Ogilvy''s five victories since joining the PGA Tour in 2001 may appear to be meager return for a player blessed with such talent, but the Australian has made sure his wins come at high-profile events.

A runaway victory at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship Sunday earned him a cheque for $1.12 million and cemented his status as one of the game''s best players.

The 31-year-old Australian clinched his first major trophy at the 2006 U.S. Open and has also claimed two prestigious World Golf Championship titles on U.S. soil.

"I feel like I''m a pretty good player, in the top-15 guys out here probably," Ogilvy told reporters after completing a wire-to-wire victory by six shots at the Kapalua Resort''s Plantation Course.

"Since La Costa, I felt like I''ve been one of the guys who can consider himself a chance coming into big golf tournaments. I''ve tended to play decent at the bigger ones."

Ogilvy won his first WGC title in the 2006 Accenture Match Play Championship at La Costa before claiming his second in the CA Championship at Doral last year.

His Doral triumph was achieved in illustrious company. Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen and Jim Furyk finished one stroke behind in a tie for second, one ahead of fifth-placed Tiger Woods.

"That was satisfying because it was such a great field," Ogilvy recalled of his fourth PGA Tour victory. "Everyone was there so that was really satisfying to kind of hang on.

MORE SATISFYING

"But this one is probably more satisfying from a golf perspective because I wasn''t feeling super about myself after the eighth hole," he added, referring to his victory Sunday.

Ogilvy went into the final round at Kapalua six strokes ahead of the field and had his lead trimmed to one after making four bogeys in the first eight holes before regaining control.

"I''ve watched lots of people go away and win tournaments and just keep going and going and going," he said after covering the last 10 holes in seven under par. "It looked like quite a lot of fun, actually.

"So I''ll look back on that and be pretty proud of the last 10 holes I played today."

Ogilvy believes he is poised to join the game''s top flight, players such as Woods and Singh who generally win multiple titles each season.

"I feel like I''m closer to that stage now but there''s still probably a gap there," said the Australian, who will climb to sixth in the world rankings Monday. "It''s more a consistency thing. If I played like this every week, I''d be all right.  Continued...