The Small Unit came up big in the Canadian Open.
Chez Reavie, proudly sporting an Arizona Diamondbacks logo on his light blue shirt, won the national championship Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, closing with a 1-under 70 in near-perfect conditions for a three-stroke victory over Billy Mayfair.
“Oh, man. I’m just so excited,” Reavie said. “I don’t think a lot of people understand when you’re growing up and you’re practicing and you’re working so hard, this is, obviously, your goal. But there are no guarantees.”
At a generously listed 5-foot-9, the 26-year-old former Arizona State player picked up the Small Unit moniker in a joking reference to Randy Johnson, the 6-foot-10 Diamondbacks pitcher known as the Big Unit.
Also in contrast to Johnson, Reavie relies on finesse rather than power. The short-hitter was on the mark in the wire-to-wire win at rain-softened Glen Abbey, hitting 44 of 56 fairways and 54 of 72 greens in regulation. The accurate play was a big factor, with the players allowed to use preferred lies in the fairways all four days.
“It was crucial to hit fairways so you could lift and clean your ball and place it in a good lie, especially when you don’t hit it as far as some of the other guys do,” Reavie said. “So, it really played into my hands.
“It was like the U.S. Open out there. The rough was long and the greens were tough. I guess that’s a good, style of golf for me, putting a premium on hitting fairways.”
Playing for the sixth straight week, Reavie finished at 17-under 267. He earned $900,000 and spots in the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship the next two weeks along with the 2009 Masters.
After entering the week with career earnings of $746,414 in 27 PGA Tour starts and 52 Nationwide Tour events, he was amazed when told that he had made $900,000.
“How much? $900,000. That’s unbelievable, really,” the 26-year-old PGA Tour rookie said. “Yeah, wow! That’s all I can say is wow to that.”
Mayfair, also a former Arizona State player, shot a 68.
“He’s a good kid and a hard worker,” Mayfair said. “I’m really happy for him.”
Sean O’Hair (68) and Steve Marino (70) were 13 under, and Canadian star Mike Weir (69) was another stroke back along with Nicholas Thompson (69) and Scott McCarron (71).
“I enjoyed it. I played well this week,” said Weir, skipping the WGC event next week after a tiring two-week stretch at the British Open and Glen Abbey.
“It has been exhausting,” Weir said.
Anthony Kim, a two-time winner this year, began the round a stroke back, but followed his third-round 64 with a 75 to tie for eighth at 11 under. The 23-year-old American would have moved into the top 10 in the world rankings with a victory.
“I played terrible,” Kim said.
After finishing off a third-round 68 early Sunday to take a one-stroke lead, Reavie got off to a slow start in the afternoon with bogeys on Nos. 1 and 3. He birdied No. 4 and broke away from the field in the middle of the round.
Reavie made a 9-foot birdie putt on the par-4 ninth after Kim holed a 15-footer.
“When I made it right on top of him, I killed his momentum,” Reavie said.
The winner then made a 30-footer on No. 10 to get to 17 under—three strokes ahead of Kim and four in front of McCarron.
On the downhill par-4 11th, Reavie escaped with a par after barely clearing swollen 16-Mile Creek from an awkward stance in a right-side fairway bunker. Chipping from deep rough between the creek and green, he hit his third shot to 1 1/2 feet.
Kim bogeyed the hole after missing the fairway, leaving Reavie four shots clear.
Reavie three-putted for bogey on the par-5 13th, then made four straight pars before putting a fitting end to his breakthrough week with a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th, his second birdie of the day on the hole.
“I didn’t feel comfortable until I hit my third shot on the green on 18,” said Reavie, the eighth first-time winner this year and 10th champion in his 20s.
Reavie returned early Sunday to finish the final two holes of the third round. He two-putted for par on 17 and regained the lead with a tap-in birdie on 18.
“I just changed my shoes and went right back to my hotel and took a nap for an hour and a half,” Reavie said. “Then I woke up, took a shower, and did the exact same routine I do every morning, even though I had already done it once before, just to get in the same flow.”
Reavie played 33 holes in 13 under Friday, shooting 65-64 for a three-stroke lead after the completion of the suspended second round Saturday morning.
Two longs days later, he was looking forward to taking the mound for the ceremonial first pitch at a Diamondbacks game.
“We’ve talked about it already,” Reavie said. “We’ll see. I’ve got to work on my fastball first, but I’ll definitely hit the mound.”
