Will U.S. put an end to Aussie dominance at Kapalua?

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Geoff Ogilvy is trying to become the second Aussie (Stuart Appleby) to win at Kapalua three consecutive times.

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Los Angeles is roughly 2,500 miles away to the northeast from this tropical destination in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. That's pretty far -- until you look in the opposite direction at Melbourne, Australia, which is more than 5,000 miles away.

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Yet why do you get the feeling that the Aussies have the home-course advantage this week at the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions?

The easy answer, of course, is that the two-time defending champion is from Australia -- Geoff Ogilvy, who acknowledged this week that his confidence level at the Plantation Course at Kapalua is probably higher than at any other course he plays on a competitive basis.

"It will be in the top two or three, for sure -- courses I feel confident on on the first tee," he said.

Ogilvy's confidence could be a bit shaky, though, after he injured his right index finger while falling in shallow water at a beach in Maui earlier this week. The injury required 12 stiches and forced Ogilvy to withdraw from Wednesday's pro-am, although after another visit to his doctor Wednesday afternoon, he is still scheduled to tee off in Thursday's first round.

If Ogilvy manages to shake off the injury and make it a three-peat this week, he would join another Aussie, Stuart Appleby, as one of just three players to have won this limited-field event three consecutive times. Appleby pulled off the trick from 2004-06, which means that if Ogilvy, Appleby, Adam Scott or Jason Day win this week, Aussies will have won six of the past eight titles in this event (not to mention Scott's runner-up finish to Vijay Singh in 2007).

On the flip side, no American has won at Kapalua since 2001 when Jim Furyk rallied on Sunday for a one-stroke victory over Rory Sabbatini. Furyk's win was the sixth in a row by an American, but that momentum has since disappeared faster than a $5 bill at Starbucks.

After the Year of the Europeans in 2010, the Americans enter the 2011 season looking to re-establish their dominance on the international golf stage.

"They played really well last year," said American Ryder Cupper Dustin Johnson. "... But this is a new year."

Still, if the last decade means anything, Kapalua may not be the place to do it. And the first tournament of the season may not be the time.

While the Americans mostly either go into hibernation or play in low-key offseason events during the last two months of the year, many of the top Australian pros are usually playing in high-pressure tournaments such as the Australian Open and Australian PGA Championship.

That puts them in midseason form coming into Hawaii while the Americans are shaking off the rust due, in part, to what Appleby elegantly called "compromised practice."

"Probably we are the most in-form players because we have been playing a lot through November and December," Appleby said. "We have had proper competitions to play, and we are practicing in climates conducive (to Kapalua)."

Added Ogilvy: "I guess the obvious thing to look at is that Australians play quite deep into November and December It's only three weeks off, I think, between tournaments in Australia. ...

"A lot of the U.S. guys traditionally have hung it up and gone to watch football and done their thing and come here a little less golfed, if that's a word. That's the obvious thing."

Another obvious thing is the windy conditions at Kapalua, which can be baffling for any player but especially those who don't face those big breezes on a regular basis.

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"This wind doesn't really faze (the Australians) as much as some other guys," said Steve Stricker, whose second-place finish in 2008 is one of the few highlights for American players here in the last 10 years.

"A lot of guys that live in the States, especially guys that live in Phoenix -- pretty calm, pretty benign there most of the time. And then you come over here and it's blowing 20-30 (mph) and that's difficult.

"(Australians) growing up as kids, I would imagine they would have played in some wind and maybe they are just a little more comfortable playing with the wind."

Noted Appleby: "We like blustery weather conditions."

Still, perhaps this whole Australian dominance/American disappointment at Kapalua is overblown.

After all, Tiger Woods hasn't played in this tournament since 2005 and Phil Mickelson has only played twice at Kapalua, and not since 2001. Without their top two players, it's no wonder why the U.S. has been feeling a bit shorthanded in recent years.

Even Ogilvy said it's "probably more coincidence than anything else" to explain the difference between Australian and American outcomes at Kapalua.

Yet if the U.S. is looking to reassert itself in 2011, there's no better time to start than this week.