Short is sweet for Reavie in three-shot win

Chez Reavie won the Canadian Open on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, closing with a one-under-par 70 in near-perfect conditions for a three-stroke victory over Billy Mayfair at Glen Abbey in Oakville, near Toronto.

Playing his sixth straight week on the tour, Reavie finished at 17-under 267. He earned $900,000 and spots the next two weeks in the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship.

“Oh, man. I’m just so excited,” Reavie said. “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.”

A short hitter who relies on finesse and accuracy, the 5-foot-9 Reavie was on the mark all week at rain-softened Glen Abbey, hitting 44 of 56 fairways in regulation and 54 of 72 greens. The accurate play was a big factor, with players allowed to use preferred lies in the fairways all four days.

“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,” Reavie said. “So, it really played into my hands.

“It was like the U.S. Open out there. The rough was long and the greens were tough. I guess that’s a good style of golf for me, putting a premium on hitting fairways.”

Mayfair shot a 68. Sean O’Hair (68) and Steve Marino (70) tied for third at 13 under, and Canadian star Mike Weir (69) was another stroke back along with Nicholas Thompson (69) and Scott McCarron (71).

Anthony Kim, a two-time winner this year coming off a seventh-place tie in the British Open, began the round a stroke back, but followed his third-round 64 with a 75 to tie for eighth at 11 under.

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Bruce Vaughan won the Senior British Open on the first playoff hole, sinking a 20-foot putt to beat John Cook at Royal Troon in Scotland.

Cook squandered a three-stroke lead after 10 holes and went to the 72nd still leading Vaughan by a shot. But Cook sent his tee shot into the rough and had a bogey five to finish with an even-par 71 and a total of six-under 278.

They began the playoff at No. 18, where Vaughan holed his putt and Cook missed from 12 feet to end it.

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Helen Alfredsson won her first LPGA Tour title in five years, defeating rookie Na Yeon Choi in a playoff to win the Evian Masters at Evian-les-Bains, France.

The 43-year-old Swede made a three-foot birdie in the third round of the playoff at the par-five 18th, while Choi, 20, of South Korea, parred the hole.

Alfredsson had a 67 in the final round, Choi shot a 66 and overnight leader Angela Park had a 71 as all finished at 15-under 273. Park, 19, was eliminated in the first playoff round.