Door slams on Weir
Leaney's clutch shots eliminate Canuck
Mike Weir had been looking forward to some time off to recharge his batteries, but he was expecting his vacation wouldn't start for another three days. That plan came to an abrupt end yesterday along with Weir's surprise elimination in the rain-delayed second round at the Accenture World Match Play Championship at La Costa, Calif., just north of San Diego.
Weir was beaten 3 and 2 by Australian Stephen Leaney, but at least he could take some solace in the fact he wasn't the only big name to fall.
World No. 2, Vijay Singh, lost to American Jerry Kelly, also in the second round. When the sun came up yesterday, there were still 32 players in the hunt. After yesterday's 36-hole test, there were only eight players remaining to compete for the $1.05-million US first prize.
Defending champ Tiger Woods hardly broke a sweat in winning his two matches, both 5 and 4. Others joining Woods in the quarter-finals this morning are Phil Mickelson, Darren Clarke, Ian Poulter, Padraig Harrington, Davis Love, Kelly and Leaney who, after his win over Weir, sent Colin Montgomerie packing.
Woods will play Harrington, Poulter will face Leaney, Clarke goes against Kelly and Mickelson faces Love in the quarters with the survivors playing 18 more this afternoon to decide who gets to play in tomorrow's 36-hole final.
Weir, who used up a lot of his physical and emotional reserves last weekend in winning the Nissan Open at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, did not play all that badly yesterday, but he ran into a buzzsaw in Leaney, who was runner-up to Jim Furyk at last year's U.S. Open.
Weir knew he was in against a battler -- he'd been impressed with the Aussie's play as a teammate at the Presidents Cup last November.
"Steve putted great," Weir said, "and I didn't make any at all.
"It's a fine line out here, especially in match play. It's one day, one round and if you run into somebody who's ready to make six or seven birdies and you're not making any, well ..."
Weir never led, falling behind early, but battled back twice to even the match through the first seven holes. Then, in a three-hole stretch, Leaney made a 17-foot putt to win the seventh hole; hit a 191-yard approach shot two feet from the hole at No. 8 for another bird; and then nailed a 27-foot birdie putt at nine to take a stranglehold three-stroke lead.
And he even kept a little magic in reserve.
Weir cut the advantage to two at No. 11 with a 30-yard sand shot that settled a foot from the hole while Leaney was making bogey. Twelve and 13 were halved.
Then, at No. 14, Weir seemed poised to cut the advantage to one. Leaney hit his second shot into a greenside bunker, 30 feet from the hole. Meanwhile, Weir's approach was nicely positioned, 15 feet below the hole. Leaney burst that bubble when he holed his bunker shot. Rather than lose the hole, he won it to go three-up again.
"It was my chance to creep a little closer and he just slammed the door," Weir said.
From there, it was just a matter of time. When the 15th and 16th holes were halved, the match was over, 3 and 2.
Weir is now heading for home and a long hiatus from competition. His plan is to take a full week off without practice, then start working on his game in preparation for his next appearance at The Players Championship on March 25. He'll go from there to Atlanta for the BellSouth and then on to Augusta to attempt to defend his Masters title.
