Reavie’s hot finish produces big lead
CROMWELL, Conn. — Chez Reavie was plodding along during the third round of the Travelers Championship, watching playing partner Zach Sucher extend his lead.
Then came the turn, both for the round and in the fortunes of the two players.
Coming off a thirdplace tie last week in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, the 37-year-old Reavie matched a tournament record with a back-nine 28 to shoot a 7-under 63. He took advantage of Sucher’s problems and turned a six-stroke deficit into a six-stroke lead heading into Sunday.
The 2008 Canadian Open winner for his lone PGA Tour title, Reavie had a 16-under 194 total at TPC River Highlands. He birdied Nos. 8, 10-13, 15 and 17-18 and has the largest 54-hole lead in Travelers history.
“Zach got some tough breaks early,” Reavie said. “I was able to kind of keep plugging along and make a few putts and the rest was history. I kind of caught fire at the end.”
Sucher had a 71 to drop into a tie for second with former PGA champion Keegan Bradley (69) at 10 under.
Looking for his first PGA Tour win, Sucher — the 32-year-old former college star at AlabamaBirmingham — seemed to have it all going his way, until he didn’t.
He took a share of the lead in the last group Thursday night, came into Saturday with a two-shot advantage and shot 31 on the front nine.
But his drive on the 10th hole went left, hit a tree and bounced backward landing in the rough just 154 yards from the tee. He ended up with a bogey on that hole. He needed two shots to get out of a plugged lie at the lip of a green-side bunker on the 11th and ended with a double bogey, and put his ball into two bunkers on the par-4 13th for another double.
It took just a half-hour for Sucher to go from five strokes ahead of Bradley to four strokes behind Reavie.
“Ten was awful and I deserved bogey, but three straight holes I hit shots that weren’t that far off all behind the lip, so two of them plug and, yeah, rough, that’s all you can say about it,” Sucher said. “Other than those three holes, it was a great day.”