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New Names, Same Game For Ogilvy

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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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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

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I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

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GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

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BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

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Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)

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