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Thursday, November 26
Riley gets improbable Masters bid
Associated Press
CHASKA, Minn. -- Rich Beem winning the PGA Championship was
remarkable enough. Chris Riley finishing third was almost as
unlikely.
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Riley, a four-time All-American at UNLV, is used to dueling with
Tiger Woods and Justin Leonard in tournaments -- only at the amateur
level, not the PGA.
Riley didn't shoot a single round in the 60s, a distinction held
by just one other top-10 finisher at Hazeltine National. Riley
finished five shots behind Beem and four behind runner-up Woods.
It was Riley's fourth major, and the first in which he finished
in the top 20. He tied for 51st in last year's PGA Championship.
''I have had a lot of experience playing with Tiger and Justin
Leonard in the finals of all those amateur tournaments, and it is a
tremendous feeling,'' Riley said. ''It's something you can't
describe. People are going to ask me how it feels playing in a
major ... and it was a lot of fun.''
This should be, too: He's now assured of an invitation to the
Masters in April.
''It's the hardest major to get into, and it would be a dream
come true to play at Augusta,'' he said. ''It is the pinnacle. It
would be great, and I am a great putter, so as long as I hit the
ball right, we'll see what happens.''
As third-round leader Justin Leonard faded with a 77, eventually
ending up tied for fourth, and Woods pushed Beem during the back
nine Sunday, Riley stayed just on the periphery of the chase.
However, Riley never got closer than the three strokes he
trailed by when the final round started. Despite running off three
straight birdies from Nos. 11 through No. 13, he never got closer
than four shots after that.
''I got really hot on the back nine,'' the 28-year-old Riley
said. ''Really, the crucial part of my round was when I came out
early shooting at flags, and I hit the water on No. 8 and made a
double (bogey). That kind of took the air out of me.''
Still, playing steadily and consistently in the final round of a
major could provide a big confidence lift to Riley, who began the
week 49th on the money list. He was fifth in the Western Open and
the John Deere Classic but recently went through a five-tournament
stretch in which he missed the cut twice and finished no higher
than 34th.
Before Sunday, he was excited just to make the cut, something he
also did while finishing tied for 22nd at the British Open last
month.
At Hazeltine, he withstood four days of changing weather and
shifting wind to go 71-70-72-70-283.
''I have never been in an experience like this,'' said Riley,
whose best career finish was a second at The International, one of
his four top-10 finishes last year.
Only three years ago, he was playing on the Buy.com tour with
brother Kevin.
''This is my fourth major and I am just getting better and
better, and this can do nothing but help me,'' he said.
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