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RBC CANADIAN OPENJuly 27, 2008Chez ReavieOAKVILLE, ONTARIO THE MODERATOR: All right, we'd like to welcome our 2008 RBC Canadian Open Champion, Chez Reavie, to the interview room. Congratulations. 1 under par, 71, got the job done. It's been a long week, but it's certainly paid off. It's been a great week. Just a couple opening comments about your initial feelings? CHEZ REAVIE: Oh, man. I'm just so excited. 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. It's not like some other sport. So it's an amazing feeling, it really is. Q. In addition to the 4500 FedExCup points you pick-up, you also earn an invitation into this week's World Golf Championship Bridgestone Invitational. So a lot of perks. Just what's next? What is it moving forward? CHEZ REAVIE: You know, I have no idea. As far as I'm concerned, I have a 7:55 flight to Reno, Nevada tomorrow morning. But I'm definitely going to go to the Bridgestone event. I'm just tired. This is the sixth week in a row. Now I can figure out a schedule. I'm not just playing when I get in. So I have to sit down with Peter Kostis, my coach, and just figure out where to go from here. Q. What would you say was the key for you this week? First of all, it looked like you were calm from start to finish. What was your game and what would you say was the key? CHEZ REAVIE: I was actually surprised at how calm I was out there today. Obviously, that was my goal, but I had never been in that situation, so I didn't know what to expect. I think definitely hitting the good tee shot off the first tee was crucial, but then I three-putted for bogey. I just managed to stay patient. I never pressed. Even when I made two bogies early, I just kept with my game plan. I kept trying to hit fairways and hit smart shots into the greens and give myself chances for birdies. Q. On the green at 17 it looked like you were staring at the leaderboard, trying to figure out. You weren't ignoring what the situation was? CHEZ REAVIE: Yeah, I definitely like to know where I sit on the last few holes. I glanced at it after 10 just to kind of get a feel for it. Just because I wanted to know what I had to do. If I had to get really aggressive to try to make some birdies to win, I wanted to know that I didn't want to have to hit it to 25 feet, miss it, tap it in and finish in second place. I definitely wanted to know where I stood. Q. How much did the course change from Thursday to today? CHEZ REAVIE: You know, it was much drier today. I mean, we still played the ball out because it was still muddy. But the grounds crew this week did a phenomenal job. With the amount of rain you had, it was really amazing that we got it all in. Q. Can you quantify how much your career has changed since we saw you on Friday night? CHEZ REAVIE: Yeah, I mean, you know, I'm playing the Masters next year. I'm playing the PGA, as far as I know. Yeah. It's amazing now that I'm going to get into larger tournaments and I can plan a schedule. I'm going to be out here for a few years now, so it's just incredible. Q. Would it be right to characterize it that the course kind of played as a bomber's course? You really chipped and putted your way. CHEZ REAVIE: Yeah, I've putted great. I've been struggling with my putting all year. I've been striking the ball well, but I haven't made the momentum putts and stuff like that. Whereas, this week, I putted great. Especially on Friday the 33-hole day. I made almost everything I looked at, really. I left myself in good spots. However, I was able to knock them in. You know, with all the rain and the mud and stuff, 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. So it really played into my hands. Q. What did you do between rounds what were you thinking when that ball on 11 out of the bunker looked like it might end up in the river? CHEZ REAVIE: Yeah, well, I chunked it. But I still thought it would get over. My depth perception is pretty good. I knew it would get over. I was surprised it didn't get to the front of the green. Q. What did do between rounds? CHEZ REAVIE: I finished, I made birdie on the last hole. I just changed my shoes and went right back to my hotel and took a nap for an hour and a half. 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. Really take my time and be ready to go. Q. On the 4th hole today perhaps it was the turning point for you with your wedge in there, correct or no? Could you talk about that? CHEZ REAVIE: 4th hole? Q. Couple of bogeys and then a wedge. CHEZ REAVIE: Yeah, and I made the birdie there. Did I? Yeah, actually I knocked that putt down the hill. It was a quick putt. I wasn't getting a lot of my putts to the hole today for some reason. Luckily that was downhill, and I just dribbled it right in the front edge there. Momentum-wise, it calmed me down, I made a couple bogies. I didn't really hit terrible shots, but I just, I was pulling the ball a little bit. It was a little quick. Little nervous, and that calmed me down quite a bit. Q. Did you make any changes in putting technique this week to help you out? CHEZ REAVIE: You know, actually, I did. I went back to my lesson journal which was something I had worked with Peter Kostis on a long time ago. I actually, when I played with Kenny Perry last week on Sunday, I watched the way he was putting and the way he set up to it. He was doing the exact thing that Kostis, Peter Kostis and I were working on. So I had practiced it all day Tuesday, and Wednesday before it rained in the afternoon, and I just went with it. I was putting okay on the putting green. Once I got off to the good start and I started to make some putts, then it was a no-brainer. I just kept running with it. Q. (Indiscernible)? CHEZ REAVIE: Yeah, actually, I moved the ball up in my stance. I fixed my right -- kind of hard to decide. My elbow, my forearms weren't in alignment. I straightened my arm to get it lined up a little bit properly, and I felt like I rocked the shoulders and kept my head down all week. That was my only thought. Q. Was there a point at which you felt comfortable? Maybe on 16 when Anthony didn't make that birdie? CHEZ REAVIE: No, I didn't feel comfortable until I hit my third shot on the green on 18. That's when I relaxed and said, okay, I've got it. Actually, I wasn't too worried about Anthony. He was struggling a little bit but he was a few back. Billy Mayfair was playing well, and I saw he was within two when I talked on the 17 tee, and he was on 18. I mean, 18 you never know. He could make an eagle, you never know. Then when I lipped up that birdie I thought okay, let's focus here, make a birdie and just finish it. Q. You say you did your whole routine twice; you shaved twice, showered twice? CHEZ REAVIE: I didn't shave today. I showered twice, I ate breakfast twice. Q. What does it mean to you to have your first PGA TOUR victory be a National Open? CHEZ REAVIE: You know, it's incredible. It was like the U.S. Open out there. The rough was long, and the greens were tough. You know, I guess that's a good, style of golf for me. Putting a premium on hitting fairways. Q. Were you worried at all having to come in early, having your day interrupted and then having to come back? Were you worried that was going to throw you off at all? CHEZ REAVIE: You know, I didn't worry about it because it was out of my control. There was absolutely nothing I could do about it, so I did what I had to do. I came in. I stretched. I got ready. I played a hole and two putts. Then went home, went back to sleep and did the exact same thing again. So I didn't worry about it at all. I just went through the motions and did what I had to. Q. Are you going to have two breakfasts every time before the final round now? CHEZ REAVIE: Absolutely not. Hopefully, next time it will be a little more routine. It won't be as tough with the weather. Q. What was your reaction when you looked at that first place check? CHEZ REAVIE: I haven't looked at it yet. I don't even know how much it was for. How much? $900,000. That's unbelievable, really. Yeah, wow. That's all I can say is wow to that. That's unbelievable. Q. What will you buy first? CHEZ REAVIE: I have no idea. I'm sure I'll find something nice back home. If my fiancee doesn't spend it before I get home. Q. At what point in your life or your career did you think you might be a guy that could call himself a PGA TOUR winner? CHEZ REAVIE: You know, in high school the whole idea was to go to the best golf program I could in college and pay for college. My freshman year I finished fourth at the NCAAs, and I won the U.S. Public Links that summer. Then it was like, wow, maybe I can do this for a living, you know. Then I went and played the Masters and got a little taste of the good life. It was just super motivation to work hard. Q. I believe you said that you played memorial earlier in the year, a Nicklaus designed course. Extra special to win here on a Nicklaus course? CHEZ REAVIE: Yeah, Jack Nicklaus, he's a legend. He's one of the greatest players ever. You know, he designs great golf courses. This golf course is fantastic out here. It's fair and it's extremely tough, and it's extremely rewarding when you hit good shots. It's a job well done. Q. Maybe yesterday but today as well, did you feel with Mike Weir's group, three or four holes ahead of you, did you feel like you were a little bit under the radar and you didn't have as much commotion around and you maybe that helped? CHEZ REAVIE: Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, his gallery was twice the size of mine, as it should be. He's a great player. He's a local guy. So, yeah, I think that definitely helped. I think it would have been much tougher for me mentally to win today if I was playing with Mike just because, you know, he's Mike Weir. Q. Quagmire is a Toronto based apparel company. How does it feel to winning Canada with them on your back? CHEZ REAVIE: It's incredible. I met them for the first time this week. I've talked to them a lot on the phone. But they've taken great care of me this week. Hopefully, they're just as excited as I am about me winning here. It's just phenomenal. Q. Because of the Canadian Open's bad date, a traditional question that always gets asked of the winner, is will you be back? CHEZ REAVIE: I'll be back, absolutely. Wouldn't miss it for the world. Q. Do you expect the Diamondbacks will have you throw out a first pitch maybe some time? CHEZ REAVIE: Yeah, we've talked about it already. We'll see, I've got to work on my fastball first, but I'll definitely hit the mound. Q. Can you share the spelling of your fiancee's name? CHEZ REAVIE: Yeah, it's Amanda Henrichs. Q. When is the wedding? CHEZ REAVIE: March 21st. Q. Bigger now? CHEZ REAVIE: I'm not going there. No, I don't know. It can't be any bigger. I picked a good spot where we couldn't fit too many people. I'm sure she'll find something else she wants though. Q. You had mentioned that you had family that you had never even met before this week. I'm sure that was quite an impression that you made on family members that you've never met before? CHEZ REAVIE: Oh, you know, they were great, too. They live some of them are an hour away, some of them are two hours away. They made the drive every day to come out here and watch me play. It was super nice of them to do. I sure had a great time watching them watch me, really. I was watching them walk down the ropes, they probably didn't even know that, but I was. Q. Will you celebrate with them tonight? CHEZ REAVIE: Yeah, you know, I don't know what I'm going to do. Yeah, well, I don't know. For a little while, probably. I'm pretty tired. Q. Just wondering if you saw what happened to Jim at the celebration at the end? CHEZ REAVIE: Some of the police officers told me. They said he's fine. You know, he's a pretty strong guy, so I'm sure he's not hurting too bad. But, yeah, I haven't seen him yet. I've got to make sure he's still breathing. Q. There are a lot of names on that trophy. I don't know if you had a chance to look at it yet. What does it mean for you to add your name with Palmer and Sneed, and Bobby and all of those names on the trophy? CHEZ REAVIE: You know, it's a dream. I grew up my whole life watching them play on TV and trying to idolize myself after them. They handled themselves so well out there in the tough situations and in the good situations and with all the people. You know, I just tried to learn from them, from watching them. And I think I did a good job of it today. Q. If you don't mind just running through your birdies. Just give us some descriptions. Around 4, just some clubs. CHEZ REAVIE: Okay, we went over 4 already. So number 9, I hit a great drive right down the middle. The pin, where was the pin? I can't even remember. Q. On 9? Okay. CHEZ REAVIE: Oh, the pin was in the front. That's right. I hit a driver down there. I had 149 yards downwind. I hit a pitching wedge to about 8 feet, 10 feet to the left. It was a crucial putt for me, because Anthony Kim made a birdie there. When I made it right on top of him, I killed his momentum, you know. Because he gave a nice little fist pump there. He was ready to come, and luckily I was able to make a birdie and kind of push him off. Q. Were you able to learn from his putt? CHEZ REAVIE: Yeah, a little bit. I had a pretty good read on it. That's why when he hit his, I knew it was going in which it solidified the read I had on mine. Then I birdied 10. Hit a driver right down the middle of the fairway. What did I hit there? I hit an 8-iron back in there and made a nice 25-footer, 30-footer. It was a tough read. And, you know, I hit it right on my line. Fortunately, it dropped. Then 18 was just a bonus. I had every intention of laying up there. I didn't go after my driver at all. I just wanted to make sure I hit it in the fairway. I laid up with a pitching wedge. I had 108 yards and I hit my 58-degree wedge to 8 feet or 10 feet to the left. When Anthony chipped and he wanted to finish and get out of the way, he gave me a good read. I just made sure I didn't hit it firm. I just dribbled it down the hill and knocked it in. THE MODERATOR: Okay, our 2008 RBC Canadian Open Champion, Chez Reavie. Congratulations. CHEZ REAVIE: Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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