	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

FRYS.COM OPEN

October 22, 2008

Chez Reavie

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA

DOUG MILNE: Chez, thanks for joining us. We'd like to welcome the 2008 RBC Canadian Open Champion here joining us for a few minutes at the FRYS.com Open. Just as you head into the week here at Grayhawk, just kind of assess a couple comments on the state of your game as you're heading in.
CHEZ REAVIE: Well, last week I played very well until Sunday, had a rough day Sunday. But I putted as well as I've putted last week, which was a bonus. I've struggled with my putting since Canada again, but it's starting to come around.
DOUG MILNE: You're a local Scottsdale area resident. What does this week mean for you? Is it added pressure? Is it less pressure? You're obviously getting a lot of push and pull from family, friends and so forth.
CHEZ REAVIE: Yeah, you know, at first there was more pressure when I played in the Phoenix Open a couple years ago. I think I'm learning not to put too much pressure on myself, and I realize that all my family and friends are out here rooting for me, and I'm learning how not to apply that pressure on myself.
DOUG MILNE: How has life changed since Canada?
CHEZ REAVIE: You know, just being --
DOUG MILNE: You mentioned the other day that you have a hard time of kind of balancing things.
CHEZ REAVIE: Yeah, I'm learning how to organize my time better. That was probably the biggest deal. I actually had -- obviously there's more constraints on my time now, so I have to learn how to manage it and still get done all the work I need to get done so I can play well but then take care of the other business that I need to take care of, as well.

Q. From a mental standpoint or a confidence standpoint, talk about what the winning the championship this year has meant.
CHEZ REAVIE: It's huge. You know, I always believed that I could win on the PGA TOUR. It's been a dream of mine since I was growing up here playing golf at Dobson Ranch. And now knowing that I've won out here, it's a fact now, it's no longer just a belief by me. It's a fact that I'm a PGA TOUR winner and I can come out and play well and win out here.

Q. You had such a great career at ASU but didn't win any titles, which I'm sure was a disappointment. Do you look back at that and wonder why it didn't happen then?
CHEZ REAVIE: Well, it was all a learning experience. I had won big golf tournaments in the summers; it just didn't seem to pan out in college for some reason. I had a lot of chances to win. Somebody just seemed to play better or I would make a bogey here or there early in the week so I couldn't win.
I had a lot of back door Top 10s, as well, so I had weeks where I didn't have a chance to win and then Sunday I played a great round and finished fourth or fifth and never really contended. So it was just a learning process for me. I learned a lot in college.

Q. Is the reaction of the other TOUR pros any different now than it was before you were a winner?
CHEZ REAVIE: Not at all. The guys out here are great. It was great the week after I won having guys I've looked up to and watched play golf on TV come up and congratulate me on winning and telling me I played great on Sunday, that they watched it. Guys like Ernie Els and Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson, all those guys, I've watched them growing up my entire life, and for them to know who I am and come up and congratulate me was special.

Q. I know you weren't there, but what did you hear about the celebration at Dobson Ranch?
CHEZ REAVIE: I heard guys were crying and having a great time and obviously drinking a lot and just really enjoying the moment, which is great.

Q. How long was it before you were able to come back home, and did you come home back and do any kind of celebration yourself?
CHEZ REAVIE: I did. It was four weeks after I won I finally got home. And even then I was only home for four days and then I had to go back out on the road. I haven't been able to see those guys yet. I saw a couple of them but not too many of them. So I haven't been back down there yet.

Q. How fast did your voicemail fill up?
CHEZ REAVIE: It was packed. By the time I got to my phone, I had 150 text messages, I believe, maybe a little more, and my voicemail box was full. My fiancee called me three minutes after I won, and my voicemail box was already full.

Q. Is your wedding coming up during the off-season?
CHEZ REAVIE: It's actually in March, next March. We tried to do it this off-season, but all the places she liked, they were all booked up, so we're doing it in March.

Q. So winning, of course, comes with a lot of benefits, especially the two-year exemption. But out of all of that stuff, what is really the thing that's the most important that came from it?
CHEZ REAVIE: Well, me being able to pick my schedule next year, playing in the majors. I'm playing in the Masters and British Open. That's a huge thing. When I played in the Masters as an amateur, that was the ultimate motivation for me to practice hard and work hard and earn my ticket back. And it obviously has happened a lot quicker than I thought it might have. But I'm looking forward to it.

Q. To come here and know that your card is secure for next year, does that just take off a lot of pressure? What is the feeling?
CHEZ REAVIE: Yeah, a lot -- I mean, the pressure is gone. I don't have to play well these last three weeks to keep my card for next year, and it frees me up to go out and try and win. You know, when you've got a chance to win but then you need to make sure you finish third to make enough money to keep your card, you can't fully go out and give it your all to win because you can't play aggressive so you need to birdie the last hole to win. But then if you make bogey, you're not going to lock your card. Guys out here, they're not going to go for it. They're going to secure their job first.

Q. And you feel like if you're playing relaxed you can play better?
CHEZ REAVIE: Exactly. I don't have any of those worries in my head, and I can just go out there and play as hard as I can and give myself every opportunity to win.
DOUG MILNE: Chez, we appreciate you coming in, and best of luck this week.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297