Ogilvy gains maiden PGA Tour win

Geoff Ogilvy is back on the fast track.

The 27-year-old Australian sank an 18-foot, downhill putt for birdie on the second playoff hole Sunday to beat Kevin Na and win the Chrysler Classic of Tucson for his first PGA Tour title.

Ogilvy, who had four top-10 finishes last season, won for the first time in 108 PGA Tour events.

``It feels like I've been waiting quite a while, so it is special,'' said Ogilvy, whose $540,000 winner's share was about 12 times more than his earnings this season ($47,316) after making the cut in two tournaments.

He shouted for joy after making the difficult putt, and embraced his wife Juli on the green after Na missed an 8-footer that would have extended the playoff.

``I have never really got too revved up on a golf course,'' Ogilvy said. ``Well, I have, but I try to stay on kind of the same plane all day, you know? That's kind of my goal.''

Ogilvy started his PGA Tour career at Tucson, finishing third in 2001. He had second-place finishes over his next three seasons before finally breaking through Sunday.

At a tournament known for producing first-time winners -- five of the last six and 14 in all -- the 27-year-old Ogilvy and 21-year-old Na fared better than 44-year-old Mark Calcavecchia.

Calcavecchia, who has won 11 titles, was 15 under after 36 holes and closed with a 3-under 69 to tie Na and Ogilvy (71) at 19-under 269 and get into the playoff. But Calcavecchia made a double bogey on the first extra hole after needing two shots to blast out of a bunker.

Hitting off a slope, Calcavecchia got the ball about 10 feet to the front of the bunker. His next shot rolled 50 feet past the pin.

``I had to try to hit the flag,'' he said. ``There was no chance trying to get cute and leave it short.''

The 72-hole total of 19 under was modest for a tournament in which the cut was 5 under, lowest on the PGA Tour this year. The 7,109-yard Tucson National course toughened up Sunday under bright sunshine, with firmer greens and tougher driving because of occasional wind.

Steve Stricker closed with a 68, but missed the playoff by a shot. Doug Barron finished fifth after a closing 72 for a 271 total.

Aaron Baddeley (68), runner-up to Heath Slocum last year, Billy Mayfair (70) and Brent Geiberger (71) tied at 272.

Na, who wept before doing interviews, saved his bid for his first championship twice en route to a final-round 71. He got in by making a 28-foot uphill birdie putt on the tough 18th, regarded as one of the most difficult finishing holes on tour.

Replaying the 440-yard 18th again in the playoff, Na sliced his approach shot, and it settled next to the greenside grandstand. His chip rolled back into a trough, but he still saved par with a 20-foot putt.

``That's pretty impressive,'' Ogilvy said about Na, the youngest player on Tour this year. ``I mean, you have to think about guys like Tiger and (Sergio) Garcia, guys at that age doing it like on the scale he is doing it.''

On the second playoff hole, the 501-yard, par-5 10th, Na and Ogilvy drove through the fairway and behind trees. Ogilvy had a far more difficult lie, but he punched his second shot into the fairway for a clear approach that stopped 18 feet above the hole.

Na cleared the trees with his second shot, and the ball landed just beyond the fringe at the back of the green. He chipped 8 feet past, giving Ogilvy the opening he needed for a dramatic ending.

``That chip was so quick,'' Na said. ``I don't think it was that far off from being a good chip. That gives him hope if he makes it that I'm going to miss (the birdie putt), and that's exactly what happened.''

At the start of the final round, Na quickly got the lead when the Aussie, who now lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., bogeyed the first hole.

Both birdied the next two holes, not long after Calcavecchia, who was one group ahead, did the same.

But that's where Na's birdie touch deserted him -- until the final hole.

He lost ground with a bogey on No. 4, a 171-yard hole fronted by a lake. Wary of the water, Na overshot the green and, after a 25-yard chip, two-putted from 11 feet.

About the same time, Calcavecchia birdied No. 5, making it a three-way tie at 19 under.

Ogilvy regained the lead with consecutive birdies on the fifth and sixth holes that put him at 21 under, good enough for a brief two-shot lead when Calcavecchia bogeyed No. 9.

But Calcavecchia birdied the 10th hole, and they shared the lead again after Ogilvy bogeyed No. 11.

Calcavecchia gave back the stroke on No. 13 when he missed a 7-foot, par putt. The bogey left him at 19 under, trailing by a shot. But Ogilvy hooked his drive out of bounds on No. 15, and scrambled to make bogey.

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page