Mike Weir
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| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Birth | May 12, 1970 Brights Grove, Ontario |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight | 155 lb (70 kg) |
| Nationality |  Canada |
| Spouse | Bricia |
| Children | Elle Marisa (1997), Lili (2000) |
| Residence | Draper, Utah |
| College | Brigham Young University |
| Career | |
| Turned Pro | 1992 |
| Current tour | PGA Tour (joined 1998) |
| Professional wins | 13 (PGA Tour: 8, Other: 5) |
| Best Results in Major Championships Wins: 1 |
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| Masters | Won 2003 |
| U.S. Open | T3: 2003 |
| The Open Championship | T8: 2007 |
| PGA Championship | 6th: 2006 |
| Awards | |
| Lou Marsh Trophy | 2003 |
| Lionel Conacher Award | 2000, 2001, 2003 |
- For the Scottish politician, see Michael Weir.
Michael Richard Weir C.M., O.Ont. (born May 12, 1970) is a Canadian professional golfer on the PGA Tour. He spent over 100 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Rankings between 2001 and 2005.[1]
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[edit] Early years
Weir was born in Sarnia, Ontario. He grew up in Bright's Grove, Ontario, where he learned to golf at Huron Oaks Golf Course, and was coached there by Steve Bennett. He attended St. Clair Secondary School in Sarnia, and won the 1988 Ontario Junior Championship. 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.[2] He turned professional in 1992, and started on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour.
[edit] Professional career
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.
On April 13, 2003, Weir won the prestigious Masters Tournament at Augusta, Georgia, one of the four Major tournaments in men's golf. He is the first Canadian male ever to win a professional major championship (Sandy Somerville and Gary Cowan won the U.S. Amateur when it was considered a major tournament). When 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 40 years earlier. Weir is a right-hander who plays golf left-handed; a trait he shares with fellow PGA Tour pro Phil Mickelson.
In June 2003, Weir tied for third at the U.S. Open, the second of the majors in the annual schedule, which moved him to third in the Official World Golf Rankings, his highest ranking.[3] For his outstanding play in 2003, Weir won the Lou Marsh Trophy for outstanding Canadian athlete of the year and for a time in 2003 and 2004 he was in the top ten in PGA Tour player rankings.
In February 2004, Weir joined the ranks of a select few players including Ben Hogan to win back to back 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 is 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 winning his next tournament. Working with Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett 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 qualify for the 2007 Presidents Cup matches being held in Canada at the Royal Montreal Golf Club. The tournament he helped bring to Canada did end up including Weir on the International squad, as he was picked by Gary Player as one of his captain's picks.[4] 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." [5] 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.
Weir currently lives in Draper, Utah, with his wife Bricia and two daughters.[6] Mike's home course is the Taboo Resort in Gravenhurst, Ontario. Although a graduate of BYU in Provo, Mike Weir is not a Mormon; he married his wife at St. Michael's Catholic Church in his home town of Bright's Grove, Ontario.[1] Following his playoff victory at the 2003 Masters Tournament, he was allowed to clear out the beer from the clubhouse refrigerator to take back for a victory party at a rented house full of Canadians.
In June 2007, it was announced that Weir would be appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. 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 and Leisure Golf magazine as one of its top five golf-related wines. Weir has announced plans to open his own winery in the summer of 2008.[7]
On December 17, 2007, The Thomson Corporation announced it will be the lead corporate sponsor for Weir for a five-year term beginning in January 2008 [8], replacing Bell Canada.
[edit] Professional wins (13)
[edit] PGA Tour wins (8)
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| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runner(s) up |
| 1. | September 5, 1999 | Air Canada Championship | -18 (68-70-64-64=266) | 2 strokes |  Fred Funk |
| 2. | November 12, 2000 | WGC-American Express Championship | -11 (68-75-65-69=277) | 2 strokes |  Lee Westwood |
| 3. | November 4, 2001 | The Tour Championship | -14 (68-66-68-68=270) | Playoff |  Ernie Els, David Toms,  Sergio García |
| 4. | February 2, 2003 | Bob Hope Chrysler Classic | -30 (67-64-65-67-67=330) | 2 strokes | Jay Haas |
| 5. | February 23, 2003 | Nissan Open | -9 (72-68-69-66=275) | Playoff | Charles Howell III |
| 6. | April 13, 2003 | The Masters | -7 (70-68-75-68=281) | Playoff | Len Mattiace |
| 7. | February 22, 2004 | Nissan Open | -17 (66-64-66-71=267) | 1 stroke |  Shigeki Maruyama |
| 8. | October 21, 2007 | Fry's Electronics Open | -14 (69-64-65-68=266) | 1 stroke |  Mark Hensby |
PGA Tour playoff record (3-2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1. | 2000 | Michelob Championship at Kingsmill | David Toms |
Lost to David Toms who made par on first extra hole |
| 2. | 2001 | The Tour Championship | Ernie Els, David Toms, Sergio García |
Defeated Ernie Els, David Toms and Sergio García with birdie on first extra hole |
| 3. | 2003 | Nissan Open | Charles Howell III |
Defeated Charles Howell III with birdie on second extra hole |
| 4. | 2003 | The Masters | Len Mattiace |
Defeated Len Mattiace with bogey on first extra hole |
| 5. | 2004 | Bell Canadian Open |  Vijay Singh |
Lost to Vijay Singh who made par on third extra hole. |
[edit] Canadian Tour wins (3)
- 1993 Infinity Tournament Players Championship
- 1997 BC TEL Pacific Open
- 1997 Canadian Masters
[edit] Other wins (2)
- 2003 Champions Challenge (with Dean Wilson)
- 2004 Champions Challenge (with Dean Wilson)
[edit] Major Championships
[edit] Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | 54 Holes | Winning Score | Margin | Runner Up |
| 2003 | The Masters | 2 shot deficit | -7 (70-68-75-68=281) | Playoff 1 | Len Mattiace |
1 Defeated Len Mattiace in sudden death playoff by 1 stroke.
[edit] Results timeline
| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | T28 | T27 | T24 | 1 | CUT | T5 | T11 | T20 | T17 |
| U.S. Open | CUT | T16 | T19 | CUT | T3 | T4 | T42 | T6 | T20 | |
| The Open Championship | T37 | T52 | CUT | T69 | T28 | T9 | CUT | T56 | T8 | |
| PGA Championship | T10 | T30 | T16 | T34 | T7 | CUT | T47 | 6 | CUT |
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
[edit] Results in World Golf Championship events
| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accenture Match Play Championship | DNP | R32 | DNP | R32 | R32 | R32 | R64 | R16 | R64 | R64 |
| CA Championship | T30 | 1 | NT1 | T15 | T28 | DNP | T18 | DNP | T50 | T20 |
| Bridgestone Invitational | DNP | T24 | 25 | T24 | T23 | T41 | T36 | T22 | WD |
1Cancelled due to 9/11
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
WD = withdrew
NT = No Tournament
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
[edit] Team appearances
- Presidents Cup (International Team): 2000, 2003 (tie), 2005, 2007
- WGC-World Cup (representing Canada): 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ 69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking
- ^ BYU Men's Golf All-Americans
- ^ Jim Furyk Wins the US Open and Climbs 4 position to World No. 6
- ^ TSN : GOLF - Canada's Sports Leader
- ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070930/wl_canada_nm/canada_golf_presidents_weir_col_3;_ylt=Alg.8vMCS1BeGABQv527jb4E1vAI
- ^ The religion of Mike Weir, leading professional golfer
- ^ Canada's Weir Branches Into the Wine Business - washingtonpost.com
- ^ Thomson - Mike Weir Golf Partnership
[edit] External links
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Catriona Le May Doan |
Lou Marsh Trophy winner 2003 |
Succeeded by Adam van Koeverden |
