NORTON — Although Chez Reavie didn’t come away with the victory in the 2011 Deutsche Bank Championship Monday, he can still take something positive away from the tournament.
“It was a good day,” Reavie said. “I played great all day. I hit my game plan on 18. With a one-shot lead I was going to hit it up the left and lay it up and wedge it on and make a par. Unfortunately, my wedge didn’t quite work out. But all in all on the day I played fantastic.”
Reavie shot a final round 5-under 66 that included six birdies and just one bogey — on the 18th hole, which ended up costing him the win. He fell to Webb Simpson on the second playoff hole.
“It’s definitely difficult to think about it,” Reavie said about the 18th hole in regulation. “It’s not hard to make a five. I mean, I’m going to make a five there nine times out of 10. Unfortunately it was the only bogey I had all day.”
The 30-year-old Reavie has only won once on the PGA Tour and started the year on a medical exemption. He has now moved up to No. 9 in the FedEx Cup standings.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Reavie, tearing up. “Starting the year on a medical and not knowing what’s going to happen, to be able to go to the Tour Championship is a goal. It’s what I wanted to do.”
‘¢ The Deutsche Bank was the second tournament as a part of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup. Only the top 70 players in the standings qualify for the BMW Championship in two weeks. For a few players it came down to the last few holes for them to advance.
Ernie Els needed to make birdie on the 18th hole to play his way into the field, and by getting up and down from the bunker next to the green he will be in the field at the BMW Championship.
“I’ve been struggling all year, especially with the putter,” he said. “I was happy to make those clutch putts, and hopefully I can play better in Chicago.”
Geoff Ogilvy also needed to birdie the 18th hole to advance and he too will move on to the next round of the FedEx Cup after sinking about a seven-foot birdie putt.
‘¢ Nick Watney‘s hopes of winning the championship came to an end a lot sooner than he would have liked as he made an 11 on the par-5 second hole. His third shot landed in thick rough over the green, and his next shot went into the water hazard. Then, from the drop zone, he put it to 23 feet but then three-putted for a nine.
While playing the 10th fairway he learned from a rules official that the nine had been changed to an 11 because after he hit his chip into the hazard he grounded his club in frustration, which is a two-stoke penalty for grounding a club in a hazard.
‘¢ Scott Stallings finished up the week by shooting an even-par 71 to finish the tournament at 2-under. He was playing in front of many family members throughout the week, as he was born in Worcester. He attended a Red Sox-Yankees game for the first time in his life on Tuesday and got to take batting practice with the team on Wednesday.
