Reavie Wins Star-Crossed Canadian Open

Filed in archive Golf News on July 27, 2008

Courtesy: Score Golf

Sunday was a very busy day on the global golf scene.

The European Tour had several events going.

First was the Russian Open at Le Meridien Moscow. Mikael Lundberg from Sweden took the honors with a two-shot win over Spain's Jose Manuel Lara.

Over on the feeder network, the Challenge Tour, Irish golfer Michael McGeady captured the SWALEC Wales Challenge.
And the Senior British Open was won by American Bruce Vaughan who defeated countryman John Cook in a sudden death playoff.
Greg Norman got off to a rough start on Thursday but he and German Bernhard Langer were in contention on Sunday. Norman, who was so strong in The Open at Royal Birkdale last week, reeled off five birdies in the first seven holes but stumbled late in the round and finished tied for fifth.

On the LPGA circuit, Helen Alfredsson won her first title in five years when she captured the Evian Masters in France over rookie Na Yeon Choi from South Korea (where else).

In Canada, the third oldest tournament in the world, the Canadian Open, returned to its home for many years, Glen Abbey - Jack Nicklaus's first major design.

Not many realize the Canadian Open is the third oldest after The Open and the U.S. Open. It is the only PGA stop of the season in Canada; it is the country's national tournament and it has seen star-studded fields in years gone by.

But those years went by some time ago. Now the Canadian Open no longer commands the respect of the players or the Tour, for that matter. It has been scheduled in right after The Open and is expected to remain there for the foreseeable future.

It is a veritable kiss of death.

What that means is that it is virtually impossible to attract a strong field. This year, Jim Furyk was defending champion. Mike Weir and Stephen Ames were two of the 19 Canadians in the field but the two with the best shot. Neither won. Retief Goosen teed it up. That's it for marquis players.

Anthony Kim was probably the biggest name after Furyk, Weir and Ames. The rest of the field at Glen Abbey were the ones who usually fill out the fields at the weekly PGA tour stops.

In fact, it was Chez Reavie who won the Canadian event on Sunday. Reavie is in his first full season on the PGA Tour after several years working the Nationwide Tour where he won once.

To his credit, Reavie has made the cut in 14 of his 16 PGA events with his best finish coming way back at the start of the season with a T5 at the Bob Hope Classic.

It is laudable that the 27 year old has won his first PGA event in his first year on tour. In fact, it's a remarkable feat.

But it's just not quite right. However, the Royal canadian golf association, which owns the event, has only itself to blame. Once they yanked the event from Glen Abbey back in 2004, it's been on a merry-go-round across the country with no real course to call home.

Now, it's not unusual, of course, for a national tournament - or a major - to move from year to year. The problem was where the Canadian Open moved to.

Several visits to Angus Glen, most recently last year, were very unsatisfactory for the players who ate up the course and were less than complimentary about its "corporate golf" layout.

Ditto for other locations. And if they're not challenged, the top players won't come - especially after an exhausting and grueling major like The Open.

The RCGA is in rebuilding mode with the Canadian Open. There are some good and tough venues ahead.

But, unless the RCGA can convince the PGA Tour office to move the date for the event, it will remain a journeyman's tournament. And that will be a real shame for the third oldest event in golf's history.