Montreal's Canadian

Mike Weir returns to his native land facing two challenges: win the cup and meet his country's expectations

Weir's results have declined since 2004, but he has seen hints of his old form this season.

By Lorne Rubenstein
Photo: Andrew Reddington/Getty Images September 21, 2007

U.S. Presidents Cup Captain Jack Nicklaus calls Mike Weir "sort of the hero darling of Canada." Gary Player calls him "a hero in his country, deservedly so." Weir, one of Player's two captain's picks for the International team at the Presidents Cup -- Australian Nick O'Hern is the other -- is used to such accolades. He has carried the Canadian flag almost alone on the PGA Tour since he arrived there in 1998 and especially since he won the 2003 Masters.

"Nobody on tour is in my situation," says Weir, who was born in Brights Grove, Ontario, near the U.S. border town of Sarnia. "People say 'Go Tiger,' not 'Go U.S.A.' Wherever I play, it's, 'Go Canada.' "

Weir, 37, has borne the burden of being the golfer Canadians follow microscopically, and often myopically, with distinction. In addition to his Masters title, he has won six other PGA Tour events, including the 2001 Tour Championship. He qualified for the last three Presidents Cups and has a record of 8-6. Weir lobbied for the competition to come to Canada. His presence will mean Canadians, in rooting for the International squad, will be rooting for the home team.

But Weir, who was recently elected to the Order of Canada, his country's highest civil honor, has not won since the 2004 Nissan Open. Later that year, Weir was on course to becoming the first Canadian to win the national championship since Pat Fletcher in 1954. The enormous crowds at Glen Abbey GC in Oakville, Ontario, were beside themselves with excitement as he played the 16th hole of the last round with a two-shot lead over Vijay Singh. But Weir three-putted that green from 10 feet and couldn't maintain his advantage. He and Singh headed for a sudden-death playoff. As Weir approached the 18th tee for the first playoff hole, spectators started singing Canada's national anthem.

Singh won the playoff, and Weir appeared nearly shell-shocked as they shook hands on the green. Many Canadians think he hasn't been the same golfer since. Weir has said countless times that the defeat is far in the past. He gives no credence to the theory. Still, Weir's results certainly have declined since 2004, when he finished 14th on the PGA Tour money list. They've declined dramatically since his banner 2003 season, when he won three times, was fifth on the money list, 85th in greens in regulation, 11th in putting, 12th in final-round scoring average and sixth in overall scoring. Through the Tour Championship, he was 82nd on the money list, 154th in greens in regulation, 73rd in putting, 94th in final-round average and 115th in overall scoring.

Weir was looking for better results when he changed coaches near the end of 2006 to work with Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett, the advocates of the hot new approach dubbed "stack and tilt." He says he was using smoke and mirrors even when he finished sixth in the 2006 PGA Championship. "I didn't feel comfortable over any shots," he says, and that's when he decided he needed more consistency and, perhaps, a change of coaches. Weir also revamped his swing because he couldn't stop himself from moving off the ball on the backswing, which, he felt, was putting too much stress on his back and neck. He couldn't hit as many balls as he normally does during practice, and he wanted to be able to play for a long time, injury-free.

In July Weir tied for eighth at the AT&T National in Bethesda, Md., and followed that with another T-8 in the British Open at Carnoustie. He tied for 34th the next week at the Canadian Open. He then withdrew from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, after hurting his neck trying to escape from the high rough, and he missed the cut in the next week's PGA Championship before tying for 41st at the Barclays, the first tournament in the FedEx Cup playoffs. By the time of the Deutsche Bank the following week, Weir was 88th on the FedEx Cup points list and figured he had to finish seventh or better to move into the top 70 and advance to the BMW Championship. Weir opened with a six-under 65 and backed it up with a 68 to tie for the halfway lead. But he shot 74-73 on the weekend to tie for 30th and finish 87th on the FedEx Cup list. That meant a three-week layoff before the Presidents Cup, something he didn't want.