Date: July 28, 2008
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Reavie snares first PGA title

Chez Reavie withstood the pressure to secure his first PGA Tour victory, triumphing in the Canadian Open by three strokes. Taking a one-shot lead into the final round after completing his third round earlier on Sunday, Reavie shrugged off two bogeys in his first three holes to finish in one-under-par 70 and card a 17-under 267 total. Reavie, who tied a tournament record with a two-round total of 13-under 129 at Glen Abbey Golf Club, finished three shots ahead of Billy Mayfair (68), who was alone in second place at 270, while Sean O&aposHair (68) and Steve Marino (70) tied for third place at 271. The American, who turned professional in 2004, pocketed $US900,000 for his victory. In his first full year on the tour, Reavie became the first &aposfirst-timer&apos to win this event since Jerry Pate in 1976. He was the most unlikely victor, having posted a career-best fifth-place finish at the Bob Chrysler Classic in January and failing to finished better than 34th in 19 events since. Canadian Mike Weir was unable to capitalise on the home-course advantage, signing for a 69 to finish in a three-way tie at 12-under 272. Anthony Kim, who was paired with Reavie and trailed by one shot following a seven-under 64 on Saturday, soared to a 75 to finish six shots off the pace. Steve Allan was the leading Australian at four-under after shooting a closing 75 to fall 13 strokes behind the winner. Rookie Jason Day finished in a tie for 48th at two-under, while Andrew Buckle was a further stroke back. Seeking his third win of the year, Kim struggled the entire day, carding five bogeys and one birdie in his round. That came after he played 21 holes on Saturday in 11-under-par. “I&aposve put myself in a good position,” Kim said. “I know I&aposve got some good guys that are coming up and obviously, Chez&aposs playing some good golf, so I&aposm looking forward to a good day.” “It&aposs always hard to stop and start. Especially when you have some momentum like I did when I finished birdie, birdie, eagle. I felt I had good momentum.” Reavie was also satisfied with his day&aposs work. “I played really solidly today,” he said. “I had a couple three-putts on the back nine. But besides that, I played well.” “Anthony and I play different games,” Reavie added. “He hits the ball really long and I don&apost.” “So I need to stick to my game plan, hit fairways and greens and give myself opportunities to make birdies.” Fourth Round of the Canadian Open -17: Chez Reavie 65 64 68 70 -14: Billy Mayfair 68 66 68 70 -13: Sean O Hair 65 71 67 68, Stephen Marino 67 67 67 70 -12: Scott McCarron 66 72 63 71, Nicholas Thompson 67 66 70 69, Mike Weir 65 70 68 69 -11: Glen Day 71 70 64 68, Anthony Kim 65 69 64 75, Kevin Na 69 66 70 68 -10: Ken Duke 68 67 69 70, Carl Pettersen 68 70 67 69 -9: Mark Calcavecchia 70 66 67 72, Carlos Franco 67 68 69 71, Jim Furyk 70 69 67 70, Charlie Wi 69 69 67 70 -7: John Huston 65 72 68 72 -5: Steve Flesch 68 67 69 75, Todd Hamilton 69 68 69 73, Parker McLachlin 69 69 68 73 Also: -4: Steve Allan (Australia) 68 69 68 75 -2: Jason Day (Australia) 65 75 69 73 -1: Andrew Buckle (Australia) 69 70 70 74 +1: Nick Flanagan (Australia) 73 68 70 76