Reavie takes lead in close Canadian Open

Chez Reavie created a little breathing room for himself on what was a crowded leaderboard.

Sat, 26 Jul, 2008 - 09:52

Chez Reavie has created a little breathing room for himself on what was a crowded Canadian Open leaderboard today.

Reavie surged into first place with a seven-under-par 64 during the suspended second round, taking a two-shot lead over Eric Axley, who had one hole left to play when play was called for the day.

Carding six birdies and an eagle at the par-five 13th, Reavie moved to 13-under 129 for the tournament.

The 26-year-old was part of a seven-way tie for first place after the first round, which was completed earlier yesterday due to torrential rain that postponed play for nearly six hours on Thursday.

The players were unable to complete the second round before it was suspended due to darkness. More than 60 players will return to finish their second round today at 7:30am local time. The third round will begin three hours later.

Reavie is seeking his first PGA Tour title. The Kansas native has just one top-five finish in his brief career, which came at the Bob Hope Classic in January.

Axley is the nearest contender at 11-under following his bogey-free round that featured five birdies. His playing partner, Nicholas Thompson, also was five-under for the round and alone at nine-under with just one hole to play.

Billy Mayfair (66) and Steve Marino (67) each managed to complete their rounds and are tied at eight-under 134. Cliff Kresege (66), Carlos Franco (68), Ken Duke (67) and Kevin Na (66) all finished at 135.

Local favourite Mike Weir was tied for the lead after the first round but was at even-par through 16 holes in his second round and six-under overall thanks to a double-bogey at number nine.

The 38-year-old Weir is making his first PGA Tour appearance in Canada since last year's President's Cup, when he defeated Tiger Woods in match play. The lefthander has just two top-10 finishes in 17 starts this season and has missed five cuts.

Two-time defending champion Jim Furyk, who finished in a tie for fifth at the British Open last week, carded a three-under 68 and is nine strokes back at four-under 138.