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Mike Weir

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Mike Weir
CM OOnt
Weir in 2010
Personal information
Full nameMichael Richard Weir
NicknameWeirsy
Born (1970-05-12) May 12, 1970 (age 54)
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)
Sporting nationality Canada
ResidenceSandy, Utah, U.S.
Spouse
Bricia Weir
​
​
(m. 1994; div. 2014)​
[1]
Michelle Money
​
(m. 2023)​
Children2
Career
CollegeBrigham Young University
Turned professional1992
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)Korn Ferry Tour
Professional wins14
Highest ranking3 (June 15, 2003)[2]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour8
European Tour2
PGA Tour Champions1
Other5
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters TournamentWon: 2003
PGA Championship6th: 2006
U.S. OpenT3: 2003
The Open ChampionshipT8: 2007
Achievements and awards
Canadian Tour
Order of Merit winner		1997
Lou Marsh Trophy2003
Lionel Conacher Award2000, 2001, 2003
Canadian Golf Hall of Fame2009
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame2017

Michael Richard Weir, CM OOnt (born May 12, 1970[3]) is a Canadian professional golfer. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He spent over 110 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 2001 and 2005.[4] He plays golf left-handed and is best known for winning the Masters Tournament in 2003, making him the only Canadian man to ever win a major championship.

Early years

[edit]

Born in Sarnia, Ontario, Weir grew up in the Sarnia suburb of Brights Grove. He learned to play golf at Huron Oaks Golf Course, and was coached there by Steve Bennett. Like many Canadian boys, his first sport was hockey; he was a natural left-handed shot, and began playing golf left-handed as a follow-on from his hockey experience. Weir was fortunate in that his godfather's son played left-handed and had a partial set of spare clubs that he handed down to Weir—three woods and four irons. From his earnings as a caddy and pro shop worker, he purchased a left-handed wedge that he used until the grip wore out. When he was 12, he won a junior tournament in which the first prize was a complete set of irons; he replaced his original four irons with the clubs he had won.[5] While working at Huron Oaks, he also met Jack Nicklaus at age 11, when the golf legend came to the club to play an exhibition. This meeting set the stage for a pivotal moment in Weir's career.[6]

Weir gave up hockey in his early teenage years when he realized he would not grow past average size and that golf was his best sport. However, he had received advice that he might be an even better golfer if he switched to playing right-handed. In 1984, Weir decided to write Nicklaus for advice as to whether to make the switch. Nicklaus quickly wrote back and told Weir, "If you are a good player left-handed, don't change anything—especially if that feels natural to you."[7]

He never thought of switching to right-handed play again, and still keeps the letter, now framed, in his home.[7]

He attended St. Michael Elementary School in Brights Grove and St. Clair Secondary School in Sarnia, winning the Ontario Junior Championship in 1988. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University (majoring in Recreation Management), and won the Ontario Amateur Championship in 1990 and 1992. He tied for 2nd at the 1991 Canadian Amateur Championship, and finished clear second in that event in 1992. He was an All-American selection at BYU in 1992 on the Second Team.[8]

Professional career

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Mike Weir at the 2009 Telus World Skins Game, Lévis, Canada

Weir turned professional in 1992, and started on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour, where he won three events. He also played some events on the Asian PGA Tour early in his career. He first reached the PGA Tour in 1998, but lost his playing privileges, due to insufficient performance. He had to requalify, and did so by being medalist at the final Qualifying School tournament.

Weir's first PGA Tour win came at the 1999 Air Canada Championship in Surrey, British Columbia. The victory made him the first Canadian to win a PGA Tour event in Canada in 45 years. He shared the 54 holes lead at the 1999 PGA Championship with Tiger Woods but finished T-10. He won The Tour Championship in a playoff in 2001.

Weir began the 2003 season in impressive fashion, winning two tournaments on the West Coast Swing. He first won the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in Palm Springs, California, and then followed with a win at Riviera Country Club near Los Angeles, at the Nissan Open.

In April, Weir won the 2003 Masters Tournament at Augusta, Georgia, one of the four major championships. He is the only Canadian male ever to win a professional major championship.[9] At the time he won the Masters, Weir became only the second left-handed golfer to win any of the four majors, the other being Bob Charles, who won the British Open forty years earlier (Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson have since won majors as left-handed golfers). Weir is a right-hander who plays golf left-handed, a trait he shares with fellow PGA Tour pro and major champion Mickelson.

In June, Weir tied for third at the U.S. Open, the second of the majors, which moved him to third in the Official World Golf Ranking, his highest ranking.[10] For his outstanding play in 2003, Weir won the Lou Marsh Trophy for outstanding Canadian athlete of the year. He maintained his position in the world's top ten ranking into 2004.

In February 2004, Weir joined the ranks of a select few players including Ben Hogan to win consecutive championships at the Nissan Open, becoming the sixth player in Nissan Open history to notch back-to-back wins, and the first since Corey Pavin (1994, 1995). He was the 20th player to post multiple wins at the Nissan Open.

Weir went more than three-and-a-half years after his second win at the Nissan Open before his next win on tour. Working with Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer on a new swing showed some positive results (two top tens, including a tie for eighth at the Open Championship). While working on the swing changes, he had dipped in the world rankings to a point that he did not automatically qualify for the Presidents Cup matches in 2007, held at the Royal Montreal Golf Club. He got to play in the tournament he helped bring to Canada because he was picked by International team captain Gary Player as one of his discretionary selections.[11] This turned out to be an inspired choice as Weir went on to beat current number one Tiger Woods in a heated match, despite his team losing the Cup. When asked, Weir enthusiastically stated, "When I look back on my career, this may be even more special than winning the Masters."[12] His swing changes, coupled with the momentum from his Presidents Cup performance, culminated in his first win in over three years at the Fry's Electronics Open in October 2007. This victory in Arizona tied Weir with George Knudson for most PGA Tour wins by a Canadian, with eight.

Golf Digest magazine of March 2010 reported that Weir had returned to work with instructor Mike Wilson, who was his coach during his most successful period in the early 2000s. Weir was going away from the 'stack-and-tilt' method and working on reclaiming his swing as developed with Wilson.[13] In October 2010 Weir said he was planning to rely less on swing coach Mike Wilson, since he thought he did not need a teacher but a set of eyes, whether it's Mike or someone else. I'm taking ownership of what I'm trying to accomplish when I make a swing ... I feel like I don't need anybody to tell me what to do. I know what I need to do, added Weir.[14] In July 2011, Weir rehired 'stack and tilt' creators Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer.[15]

Weir's 2010 season ended early with a torn ligament on his right elbow. He began 2011 on a major medical exemption, which means he would have to earn the difference between his 2010 earning and $786,977 (equivalent to Troy Merritt, who finished with the 125th and final exempt spot on the Tour) in five starts to retain full Tour status. Otherwise, he could use one of two special exemptions he holds because of career earnings to play the PGA Tour in 2011, but that is something he hoped to avoid doing.[16] Weir had trouble making cuts and did not finish high enough to retain significant status on the Tour, being demoted to the Past Champions category, among the lowest in the PGA Tour exemption priority rankings.

After an injury plagued 2010 and 2011 seasons, Weir began his 2012 season at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am after six months out of the game recovering from elbow surgery. As Weir did not have full status on the PGA Tour, he activated his European Tour membership for 2012, which came after he won the Masters in 2003. He missed the cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, finishing at +6. He missed his next two cuts on the PGA Tour following Pebble Beach but made the weekend on the European Tour in the Open de Andalucia. Weir used a special exemption reserved for the top 25 on the career PGA Tour money list to regain his PGA Tour playing privileges for 2013.[17]

Playing on a top 50 career money list exemption for 2014, Weir nearly earned his first win in seven years at the Byron Nelson Championship, but finished two strokes behind Brendon Todd for his first top ten since 2010. The runner-up finish was Weir's best result since his last win in 2007. The result elevated Weir over 350 places in the world rankings up to 238th. Though Weir missed the FedEx Cup playoffs, he finished inside the top 125 on the money list, which left him exempt for the 2014–15 season.

Weir joined the TNT broadcast team for the 2016 PGA Championship, as an on-course reporter.

In 2019, Weir announced he would play the entire season on the Web.com Tour, taking advantage of an exemption for former PGA Tour members aged 48 and 49 either as one final attempt to regain a PGA Tour card or in preparation for PGA Tour Champions.[18]

Weir turned 50 in May 2020 and joined the PGA Tour Champions.

In May 2021, Weir won his first tournament on the PGA Tour Champions. Weir won the Insperity Invitational in Woodlands, Texas. Aside from the five man 2010 Telus Skins Game, this was his first worldwide win since 2007. [19]

Personal life, honours

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Weir currently lives in Sandy, Utah, with his two daughters.[20]

In 2007, Weir was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada and later invested on November 5, 2009.[21] Previously, he was appointed to the Order of Ontario in 2003.

Creekside Estate Winery, near Lincoln, Ontario, began producing wine for Weir in 2005, and as of 2007 had released a Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Cabernet-Merlot, Cabernet-Shiraz and Icewine. His Icewine Vidal was named by Travel + Leisure Golf magazine as one of its top five golf-related wines. Weir announced plans to open his own winery in the summer of 2008.[22]

On December 17, 2007, The Thomson Corporation (now Thomson Reuters) announced it will be the lead corporate sponsor for Weir for a five-year term beginning in January 2008,[23] replacing Bell Canada.

Weir's caddy, from 1999 to 2010, was fellow Ontarian Brennan Little. In January 2011, Weir hired veteran caddy Pete Bender.[24]

In 2009, Weir was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.[25]

In 2010, Weir was selected as #12 on a list of Canada's 100 Greatest Athletes of All Time.[26]

There is a street in Draper, Utah named after him.[27][28]

Weir withdrew from the 2015 RBC Canadian Open, and took an indefinite leave of absence from golf competition, according to a statement he posted Friday, July 17, 2015, on his Twitter account. He called it an "extremely difficult" decision to withdraw from his country's national open. It would have been Weir's 25th appearance in the event.[29]

Weir was named as a captain's assistant to Nick Price for the 2017 Presidents Cup competition and to Ernie Els for the 2019 Presidents Cup.[30]

In 2017, Weir was awarded the Order of Sport, marking his induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.[31]

Professional wins (14)

[edit]

PGA Tour wins (8)

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Legend
Major championships (1)
World Golf Championships (1)
Tour Championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (5)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Sep 5, 1999 Air Canada Championship −18 (68-70-64-64=266) 2 strokes United States Fred Funk
2 Nov 12, 2000 WGC-American Express Championship −11 (68-75-65-69=277) 2 strokes England Lee Westwood
3 Nov 4, 2001 The Tour Championship −14 (68-66-68-68=270) Playoff South Africa Ernie Els, Spain Sergio García,
United States David Toms
4 Feb 2, 2003 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic −30 (67-64-65-67-67=330) 2 strokes United States Jay Haas
5 Feb 23, 2003 Nissan Open −9 (72-68-69-66=275) Playoff United States Charles Howell III
6 Apr 13, 2003 Masters Tournament −7 (70-68-75-68=281) Playoff United States Len Mattiace
7 Feb 22, 2004 Nissan Open (2) −17 (66-64-66-71=267) 1 stroke Japan Shigeki Maruyama
8 Oct 21, 2007 Fry's Electronics Open −14 (69-64-65-68=266) 1 stroke Australia Mark Hensby

PGA Tour playoff record (3–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2000 Michelob Championship at Kingsmill United States David Toms Lost to par on first extra hole
2 2001 The Tour Championship South Africa Ernie Els, Spain Sergio García,
United States David Toms 		Won with birdie on first extra hole
3 2003 Nissan Open United States Charles Howell III Won with birdie on second extra hole
4 2003 Masters Tournament United States Len Mattiace Won with bogey on first extra hole
5 2004 Bell Canadian Open Fiji Vijay Singh Lost to par on third extra hole

Canadian Tour wins (3)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 Jul 25, 1993 Infiniti Tournament Players Championship −4 (70-73-72-69=284) 1 stroke Canada Rémi Bouchard, United States Steve Stricker,
Canada Richard Zokol
2 Jun 8, 1997 BC TEL Pacific Open −13 (65-69-68-69=271) 1 stroke Australia Kenny Druce, United States Ken Duke
3 Jul 27, 1997 Canadian Masters −18 (64-67-66-69=266) 8 strokes New Zealand Steven Alker, United States Ken Duke,
Mexico Carlos Espinosa, Canada Kari Kekki

Other wins (2)

[edit]
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 Jun 29, 1999 Telus Skins Game $210,000 $115,000 United States David Duval
2 Jun 24, 2010 Telus World Skins Game (2) $270,000 $195,000 South Africa Retief Goosen

Other playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2006 CVS/pharmacy Charity Classic
(with United States Brad Faxon) 		South Africa Tim Clark and Zimbabwe Nick Price Lost to birdie on second extra hole

PGA Tour Champions wins (1)

[edit]
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 May 2, 2021 Insperity Invitational −10 (66-68=134)* 2 strokes United States John Daly, United States Tim Petrovic,
United States David Toms

*Note: The 2021 Insperity Invitational was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

Major championships

[edit]

Wins (1)

[edit]
Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
2003 Masters Tournament 2 shot deficit −7 (70-68-75-68=281) Playoff1 United States Len Mattiace

1Defeated Len Mattiace in a sudden-death playoff: Weir (5), Mattiace (6).

Results timeline

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Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament T28 T27 T24 1 CUT T5 T11 T20 T17 T46
U.S. Open CUT T16 T19 CUT T3 T4 T42 T6 T20 T18 T10
The Open Championship T37 T52 CUT T69 T28 T9 CUT T56 T8 T39 CUT
PGA Championship T10 T30 T16 T34 T7 CUT T47 6 CUT T42 CUT
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament T43 CUT CUT CUT T44 CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open T80 T28
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship CUT
Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Masters Tournament CUT T51 CUT CUT CUT CUT
PGA Championship
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship NT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

[edit]
Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 1 0 0 2 2 6 25 12
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 3 4 12 8
U.S. Open 0 0 1 2 4 8 14 11
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 2 2 12 8
Totals 1 0 1 4 11 20 63 39
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (twice)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship

[edit]
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
The Players Championship CUT T44 T19 T27 CUT T17 T22 T37 T32 T14 CUT

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

World Golf Championships

[edit]

Wins (1)

[edit]
Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
2000 WGC-American Express Championship 1 shot deficit −11 (68-75-65-69=277) 2 strokes England Lee Westwood

Results timeline

[edit]
Tournament 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Match Play R32 R32 R32 R32 R64 R16 R64 R64 R64 R32
Championship T30 1 NT1 T15 T28 T18 T50 T20 T35 T26
Invitational T24 25 T24 T23 T41 T36 T22 WD 10 T55
Champions

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
WD = Withdrew
NT = No tournament
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Results in senior major championships

[edit]
Tournament 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
The Tradition NT T25 T40 T15 T46
Senior PGA Championship NT T5 T4 T37 T14
U.S. Senior Open NT T2 CUT T35 WD
Senior Players Championship T10 T20 T25 T38 T17
Senior British Open Championship NT CUT
  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

PGA Tour career summary

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Season Wins (Majors) Earnings (US$) Rank
1997 0 23,709 287
1998 0 275,017 131
1999 1 1,497,014 23
2000 1 2,576,479 6
2001 1 2,825,436 11
2002 0 881,390 78
2003 3 (1) 5,236,410 5
2004 1 2,761,536 14
2005 0 1,363,467 56
2006 0 1,907,974 33
2007 1 2,015,053 35
2008 0 3,195,135 14
2009 0 2,205,672 26
2010 0 559,092 151
2011 0 23,312 240
2012 0 0 –
2013 0 194,510 184
2014 0 854,413 109
2015 0 72,800 215
2016 0 0 –
2017 0 0 –
2018 0 5,760 259
2019 0 27,643 244
Career* 8 (1) 27,977,076 42

*As of the 2019 season.

Summary of PGA Tour performances

[edit]
  • Starts – 454
  • Cuts made – 267
  • Wins – 8
  • 2nd-place finishes – 10
  • 3rd-place finishes – 8
  • Top 10 finishes – 69
  • Top 25 finishes – 140

* Complete through the 2019 season

Team appearances

[edit]

Professional

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Wacker, Brian (February 10, 2016). "Life is good again for Weir ... is golf next?". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017.
  2. ^ "Week 24 2003 Ending 15 Jun 2003" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  3. ^ Davidson, Neil (December 31, 2003). "Weir chosen top athlete". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press.
  4. ^ "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking" (PDF). Official World Golf Ranking.
  5. ^ Feinstein, John (2010). Moment of Glory: The Year Underdogs Ruled Golf. New York: Little, Brown and Company. pp. 34–35. ISBN 978-0-316-02531-7.
  6. ^ Feinstein, p. 36.
  7. ^ a b Feinstein, pp. 36–37.
  8. ^ BYU Men's Golf All-Americans Archived September 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Grange, Michael (April 2018). "Behind the scenes of Mike Weir's 2003 Masters win". SportsNet. Retrieved May 13, 2018. Weir was the first lefty and remains the only Canadian to win the Masters, and the memories of those who experienced it with him are still fresh today.
  10. ^ "Jim Furyk Wins the US Open and Climbs 4 position to World No. 6". OWGR. June 16, 2003. Archived from the original on March 19, 2009.
  11. ^ "404". TSN. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  12. ^ "Yahoo! News".
  13. ^ Golf Digest, March 2010.
  14. ^ "Weir eyes December comeback". The Official Mike Weir Website. October 28, 2010. Archived from the original on January 4, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
  15. ^ "On eve of Canadian Open, Weir returns to Stack & Tilt". Golf Digest. July 20, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2011.
  16. ^ Johnston, Chris (December 7, 2010). "Canadian golfer Mike Weir set to make return from injury". Toronto Star. The Canadian Press.
  17. ^ Gray, Will (December 14, 2012). "Hoch, Weir among group using earnings exemption in 2013". Golf Channel.
  18. ^ Romine, Brentley (February 13, 2019). "Weir, 48, plans on playing full Web.com Tour schedule in '19". Golf Channel.
  19. ^ "Mike Weir captures first PGA Tour Champions victory at Insperity Invitational". Sportsnet.ca. Associated Press. May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  20. ^ Sorenson, Mike (June 12, 2018). "Utah's Mike Weir enjoying golf more than ever as he joins young guys on Web.com Tour". Deseret News.
  21. ^ "Order of Canada - Michael R. Weir". Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  22. ^ Orton, Kathy (July 6, 2007). "Canada's Weir Branches Into the Wine Business". The Washington Post.
  23. ^ "The Thomson Corporation and Mike Weir Forge Partnership Creating the Top New Team in Canadian Golf". Thomson Reuters. December 17, 2007. Archived from the original on February 21, 2008.
  24. ^ "Mikeweir.com: Team Weir". Archived from the original on April 20, 2010.
  25. ^ "Mike Weir – Canadian Golf Hall of Fame". Golf Canada.
  26. ^ Canada's Top 100: The Greatest Athletes of All Time, by Maggie Mooney, 2010, Greystone Books, D&M Publishers, Vancouver / Toronto / Berkeley, ISBN 978-1-55365-557-2, p. 89
  27. ^ "Mike Weir returns to action again". www.golftoday.co.uk.
  28. ^ "Map of Mike Weir Drive in Draper, UT". Google Maps. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  29. ^ Wacker, Brian; Stanley, Adam (July 17, 2015). "Weir takes leave of absence, will miss RBC Canadian". PGA Tour.
  30. ^ "Furyk, Weir Named Fourth Captains' Assistants". PGA Tour. March 7, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  31. ^ "Mike Weir". Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 12, 2018.

Further reading

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