Jinx on the links
By KEN FIDLIN -- Toronto Sun
He has stared down the world's best players, not once, not twice, but six times.
He has survived one of the great pressure-cookers in big-time golf -- the back nine at Augusta National on Masters Sunday -- and he has the green jacket to prove it.
Yes, Mike Weir has membership in one of the most exclusive clubs in the world of sport as a major championship winner.
You could say that the kid from Bright's Grove has made it big all over the world but there's still a bit of unfinished business at home.
Oh, there are still plenty of far-off mountains for Weir to climb in the golf world, outrageous challenges to meet, but few that would give Weir the kind of satisfaction that a victory in the Canadian Open to be played this week at Hamilton Golf and Country Club would bring.
It has been nearly half a century since Pat Fletcher, a Scot by birth but a Canadian citizen, captured the 1954 Canadian Open. No Canadian-born player has won the Open since Karl Keffer accomplished the feat in 1914.
In the intervening years, many have tried and all have failed. Only a handful have even come close. Kelowna's Dave Barr, now a thriving rookie on the Champions Tour, came closest when he finished in a fourth-place tie in 1988.
But no Canadian, not Weir, not anybody, has ever arrived at a Canadian Open site riding a wave of success that has borne Weir along in 2003. Last season, when he came to Angus Glen in Markham, Weir had to answer questions about his mediocre season, relative to 1999, 2000 and 2001.
This year, he comes to Hamilton as the Masters champion, a winner of three PGA tournaments and a top-three finisher in seven tournaments, including the United States Open. He has been among the PGA Tour money-leaders all year and has elevated his world-ranking from 48 at the beginning of the year to No. 6.
Yet there remains that historical drought to overcome.
"This is the toughest tournament for a Canadian to win. There's just too much pressure," the late, great George Knudson said back in 1970. Those are words that have stood the test of time.
Perhaps that's a compliment to the Canadian Open itself because obviously it has attracted enough high-powered international talent down through the years to keep the home-growns off the board. But it also speaks to a void on this country's sporting landscape.
For players of various generations along the way, the drought has been a thorn in their sides. That includes Knudson, Stan Leonard, Al Balding, Barr, Dan Halldorson, Richard Zokol and today's stars, Ian Leggatt, Glen Hnatiuk and Weir.
There have always been capable Canadian players but no one has been able to deliver on that one particular week of the year.
"To win the Canadian Open would be special," Weir said. "Not just for me but for any Canadian player. It's the tournament you grow up watching."
This year, Weir's name is at the top of a list of 12 Canadians who have qualified or been offered an exemption. Fellow PGA Tour pros Leggatt, Hnatiuk and Richard Zokol have accepted invitations. Others include Canadian Tour players Derek Gillespie, David Hearn and Jon Mills as well as Nationwide Tour player David Morland. In addition, invitations have been extended to amateur up-and-comers James Lepp, Chris Baryla, Richard Scott and Peter Laws.
There's every chance that several more will be added after Monday's qualifying tournament at Hidden Lakes in Burlington where 156 players will shoot it out for four qualifying spots.
Had the tournament not been anchored at Oakville's Glen Abbey Golf Club for the better part of two decades, perhaps Weir might already have done something about that blank spot on his resume.
Truth is, Weir's record has been quite horrible at the Canadian Open, especially at Glen Abbey. This will be his 12th Open and he didn't even make the cut the first eight times. Since then, he has finished 70th in 2000 (Glen Abbey), 34th in 2001 (Royal Montreal) and 22nd in 2002 (Angus Glen).
"It's well-documented that I haven't been a big fan of Glen Abbey," he said. "I just haven't been able to have any success there. But I haven't had much success in the Open wherever it has been played."
A few weeks ago, Weir slipped quietly into Hamilton along with Lorie Kane for a practice round and declared the course to his liking. After all his success this year, that's reason enough for some optimism.
Still, it's quite possible that any Canadian, not just Weir, tends to put too much pressure on his shoulders coming into this week. It is very easy to want something too badly.
"In the past, I've gotten myself over-geared-up for it, almost practised too hard," Weir said. "I was so excited about it and it was kind of a system overload by the time the tournament started."
Even though it doesn't show up as a bright spot on his record, Weir can trace one of the most pivotal moments in his career to an experience at the Canadian Open.
"I remember being on the range, hitting balls beside Nick Price," Weir said. "I think it was 1994, and I was thinking to myself that if I was going to be something, not just get on tour but go somewhere once I got there, that I'd have to beat a guy like Nick.
"I'm standing there next to him on the range, watching and listening to his shots. They looked different and they sounded different than mine. Every one of his shots sounded like a rifle shot and was streaking out at the flag, with the right trajectory and mine were sprayed all over the place."
It was at that precise moment that Weir vowed to dedicate himself to a complete overhaul of his game so that one day he could be in the same league with players of Price's calibre.
It took years of practice and sacrifice, but Weir made it. He has beaten them all, including Nick Price. But there are a few things that Price has that Weir does not. At least not yet.
One of them is a Canadian Open title.
