Corby Claims First RDGA Major Title
at 2026 RDGA Match Play Championships
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Ogden, Burns, Take Senior, Super Senior
Match Play Titles at Canandaigua Country Club
- CLICK HERE for results from the 2026 RDGA Match Play Championship
By DAVE EATON
CANANDAIGUA, NY – The RDGA Men’s Match Play Championships, the first RDGA Major Championship of the 2026 season, concluded on Wednesday, June 24, under warm temperatures and sunny skies along the shores of Canandaigua Lake and the fairways and greens of scenic Canandaigua Country Club.
By the end of the day, THREE first-time RDGA Match Play Champions were crowned in each of the Championship’s three Divisions: Owen Corby in the Men’s Match Play Championship; Ken Ogden in the Senior Match Play Championship; and Jim Burns in the Super Senior Match Play Championship.
The day began with six Semi Final matches – two for each of the Championship’s Three Divisions. In the Men’s Division, No. 1 Men’s seed Kyle Downey went up against No. 4 seed Brody Burgess; and Corby, the No. 3 seed, matched up vs. No. 23 seed Jason Douglas of Locust Hill.
Semi Finals Set Up Intriguing Final Matches
In the first match, Douglas – who had upset No. 2 seed Aiden Spampinato in Tuesday’s Quarterfinals – struggled to keep up with Corby as Corby eventually cruised to an 8-and-7 decision.
In the second match, Downey and Burgess waged a pitched battle throughout the round. Downey gained a 2-up advantage by the 17th hole, however, and closed out Burgess, who did not win the hole to extend the match and set up a No. 1 vs. No. 3 seed matchup in the Men’s Match Play Finals.
In the Senior Division, Sarkis defeated a game Rob Snedden of Ridgemont, 3-and-2, while Ken Ogden got past Oak Hill’s Stu Harris by the same margin – setting up an all-Canandaigua-member final showdown between Sarkis and Ogden.
And, in the Super Senior Division, Canandaigua member Jim Burns took the battle to Ravenwood’s Mark Battle to win a tightly contested Semi Final by a 1-up decision.
In the other Super Senior Semi Final match, another Canandaigua member, Jim Johnson, bested Irondequoit’s John August, 3-and-2, resulting in another intra-Canandaigua finals matchup between Burns and Johnson for the Super Senior title.
The Thrill of Victory for Corby; Disappointment for Downey
The Men’s Division Championship Match pitted two of the RDGA’s top players whom had never before won an individual Match Play Championship title: Downey, whose best Match Play finish came a year ago, finishing runner-up to Champion Philip Minnehan; and Corby, a Monroe member, LeMoyne College Golf Team player and first-time Semi Finalist.
By the second nine of their Finals match, Corby began to separate himself from Downey, building upon a narrow lead to eventually claim a 6-and-5 victory. For Downey, the title run ended in a disappointing runner-up finish for the second consecutive year.
For Corby, the Match Play Championship title represents the next big step in his amateur career, following a New York State Men’s Amateur Four Ball title a year ago, along with his recent U.S. Open qualifying run that took him to the U.S. Open Final Qualifying round.
Canandaigua Seniors Battle for Titles on Home Turf
In the Senior Division Match Play Finals, the first of TWO inter-Canandaigua Country Club matchups for the RDGA Match Play title, Ogden and Sarkis took a tight battle to the second nine – but Ogden gradually pulled away, winning his first RDGA Match Play title by a 3-and-2 margin of victory. For Sarkis, the runner-up finish came up just short in his effort to claim a second Senior Division Match Play title, following his lone victory in 2024.
For Ogden, this year’s Senior Division RDGA Match Play title was vindication for the two runner-up finishes in the Division in 2022 and 2024 – and, adds to his RDGA record, which includes a victory in the 2021 RDGA Senior Championship.
Canandaigua Super Senior Burns Outlasts Club Member Johnson for Title
In the Super Senior Division Match Play Finals, the second all-Canandaigua matchup guaranteed a second 2026 Match Play title for a home club contestant.
Jim Burns and Jim Johnson waged a back-and-forth battle throughout their Finals match, coming down the home stretch in a virtual dead heat. But, with a 1-up advantage on the 17th hole, Burns won the hole – and the match – by a 2-and-1 margin.
The result ended Johnson’s run for a second title in the RDGA Super Senior Match Play Division, following his victory in 2024 in the first edition of the Divisional Championship.
For Burns, the Super Senior Match Play victory ended a two-year streak of runner-up finishes in the competition – and adds a new Divisional title to his 2019 RDGA Senior Match Play crown
The RDGA congratulates Owen Corby, Ken Ogden and Jim Burns on their 2026 RDGA Match Play Championship titles – and wishes to express our appreciation to Canandaigua Country Club, its members and staff for the gracious hospitality and outstanding conditions of the course for this year’s RDGA Match Play Championship.
CLICK HERE for the final results of the 2025 RDGA Mid Amateur Championship
Special thanks to Canandaigua Country Club PGA Head Professional Judd Noto and his staff, General Manager Jim Fields, as well as the hospitality of the Caledonia membership – all of whom helped make the 2025 RDGA Match Play Championship a success.
The Rochester District Golf Association is led by Executive Director Tim Vangellow and is a proud Allied Golf Association of the USGA, serving Rochester area golfers since 1929.
