Chan Reeves prompted a cheer when his approach shot to the 18th green settled eight feet from the pin. He missed the par-saving putt but it was not a bad way to end his final round of the PGA Championship.
Especially considering he began the week sorting golf balls on the driving range.
With the PGA Championship at his course, even Reeves, Atlanta Athletic Club director of instruction, was called to odd-job duty. Reeves was pressed into service as a marker for the final two rounds, moving him from outside to inside the ropes.
Reeves played rounds Saturday and Sunday alongside professional Paul Casey as a non-competitive marker. With an odd number of players making the cut, the first player off each day required a partner to complete a twosome and keep the pace of play. A golfer playing alone could catch the workers ahead setting up the rest of the course.
“I slowed him down plenty,” Reeves said jokingly.
Reeves, nephew of former Falcons head coach Dan Reeves, also spent the early part of the week doing instructional video work for pgatour.com. He’s not exactly sure why or how he was selected as the designated marker by the AAC, but he was happy to fill the position.
“He was so good, right from the first tee [Saturday],” Reeves said of Casey. “He said, ‘Let’s go have some fun.’ I didn’t play well [Saturday] but today I played better. It was fun both days. To be out there playing golf in front of this many people, and also to have your members be 20 percent of them, it was a neat experience.”
Reeves didn’t keep his score, mostly because he didn’t finish several holes. If he hit the ball out of play, he would pick up. He said he often didn’t putt out once he got close to the hole. His job was to stay out of Casey's way.
Reeves had his moments. That approach shot to the 18th Sunday prompted one fan to yell, "Hey Chan, nice shot."
Reeves is no stranger inside the ropes for tournament golf. He played at Georgia Tech. In 14 years as a member of the Georgia PGA, Reeves won the sectional championship in 2002 and 2003, though he never made it to the PGA Championship. He also won the 2005 Atlanta Open.
Rusty Bennett, a friend and AAC member, caddied for Reeves.
“It was a thrill to help him get around,” Bennett said.
It wasn’t a good tournament for Casey. He made the cut on the number and shot weekend rounds of 78 and 72 to finish 14 over par. He needed the marker both days because he had the high score going into each round. He was well acquainted with Reeves for the final round.
“It’s a difficult situation,” Casey said. “I want to play well. I don’t want to make a guy feel uncomfortable so it affects the way he treats me or gets in my way and makes my job more difficult. The best thing to do is just be normal and be myself.
“He’s under a lot of pressure himself because this is his club. He’s got members watching. They expect him to play well. The fact that we already played together [Saturday] made it quite good fun.”
On Monday, the Atlanta Athletic Club reverts back to normal operations. Grandstands and corporate suites will be disassembled. Groundskeepers will repair the damage caused by thousands of spectators walking the grounds.
Reeves will return to his day job of teaching golf.
“This was amazing,” Reeves said. “But it was a little stressful.”
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