Oh, Canada! Little man comes up big

Chez Reavie savors a three-stroke victory over Billy Mayfair in the Canadian Open. (ADRIAN WYLD/Associated Press)

Chez Reavie, proudly sporting an Arizona Diamondbacks logo on his light blue shirt, won his first PGA Tour title yesterday, closing with a 1-under-par 70 in near-perfect conditions for a three-stroke victory over Billy Mayfair in the Canadian Open in Oakville, Ontario.

"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."

At a generously listed 5 feet 9 inches, the 26-year-old former Arizona State player picked up the moniker Small Unit in a joking reference to Randy Johnson, the 6-foot-10 Diamondbacks pitcher known as the Big Unit.

Also in contrast to Johnson, Reavie relies on finesse rather than power. The short hitter 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 the 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.

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 PGA Championship.

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

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

Alfredsson, 43, made a three-foot birdie in the third round of the playoff at the par-5 18th, while the 20-year-old Choi, of South Korea, parred the hole.

Alfredsson had a 67 in the final round, Choi shot a 66 and overnight leader Angela Park closed with a 71 as all finished at 15-under 273.

Park, 19, was eliminated in the first round of the playoff at No. 18 when her birdie attempt rolled around the lip of the cup and stayed out.

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

Cook squandered a three-stroke lead after 10 holes but still went to the 72d leading Vaughan by one. Cook sent his tee shot right into the rough and then played his third shot well short of the green. He decided to putt, but left it 15 feet short for a bogey to finish with an even-par 71 and a 6-under 278 total. Vaughan made a par for a 70 that forced the Americans back to No. 18 to begin the playoff, the championship's third in four years.

Greg Norman, third in last week's British Open, shot a 68 for a share of fifth place.

European - Mikael Lundberg won his second Russian Open title in Nakhabino with birdies on two of the last three holes for a 68 and a two-stroke victory over Jose Manuel Lara.

Juniors - In West Hartford, Alexis Thompson, 13, of Coral Springs, Fla., outlasted fellow 13-year-old Karen Chung of Livingston, N.J., 5 and 4, to become the second-youngest winner in the US Girls Junior championship's 60-year history.