Mike Weir

Lore & Background

Weir grew up in Brights Grove, Ontario, and learned golf at Huron Oaks Golf Course. He gave up hockey in his early teens after realizing he would not grow past average size. At age 11, he met Jack Nicklaus at an exhibition, and later wrote to Nicklaus for advice on whether to switch to playing right-handed; Nicklaus advised him to stay left-handed. Weir still keeps that framed letter. He won the Masters in 2003, and in 2007 was a discretionary pick for the Presidents Cup, where he beat Tiger Woods in a match he called possibly more special than winning the Masters.

In Their Own Story

The air at Augusta in April 1999 carried the scent of azaleas and the quiet hum of a nation holding its breath. Weir stood over a putt on the back nine, the green jacket still a dream stitched in white and green. His caddie said nothing—there was nothing to say. The ball rolled, wobbled, and dropped. The roar that followed was not just from the gallery; it was from every living room in Canada, from every backyard in Toronto where a kid had just watched history being made. Weir did not celebrate wildly. He simply nodded, picked up his ball, and walked to the next hole. But his eyes, for just a moment, were bright. He knew. They all knew.

Reader's Guide

Weir turned professional in 1992 and first reached the PGA Tour in 1998. His first PGA Tour win came at the 1999 Air Canada Championship. He won the Masters in 2003 and the Nissan Open in consecutive years (2003 and 2004). He later worked with swing coaches Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer on the 'stack-and-tilt' method. After an elbow injury (torn ligament in his right elbow) in 2010, he struggled with form and status. He used a special exemption based on career money list to regain playing privileges for 2013. He took an indefinite leave from golf in July 2015.

Did You Know?

• Weir is a right-hander who plays golf left-handed, a trait he shares with fellow major champion Phil Mickelson.
• He won the Lou Marsh Trophy for outstanding Canadian athlete of the year in 2003.
• His eight PGA Tour wins tie him with George Knudson for most by a Canadian.
• He was the second left-handed golfer to win a major, after Bob Charles (1963 British Open).