Mike Weir was on an
Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Toronto when the pilot invited him
up to the cockpit for the last hour. After all he has been through, a view
from the top looked awfully nice.
``I got to steer the
plane in for everybody,'' cracked Canada's latest sports star.
That was only part
of the spoils from winning his first PGA Tour event.
Weir was met at Pearson
International airport by reporters and photographer from two newspapers
and two national television stations. And when he walked downstairs to
the media room Tuesday at Glen Abbey Golf Club, Tim Finchem was the first
to greet him.
``My name is Tim,''
the commissioner said to a room full of 50 reporters for an interview carried
live by two Canadian networks. ``I just stopped by to introduce you to
our latest PGA Tour winner, Mike Weir.''
Tim who?
Weir is the toast
of Canada, no matter what happens this week at Glen Abbey for the Canadian
Open.
By holding off Fred
Funk in the Air Canada Championship on Sunday, Weir became the first Canadian
to win a PGA Tour event since Richard Zokol won the Greater Milwaukee Open
in 1992, and the first Canadian to win a tour event on home soil in at
least 45 years.
Weir didn't need a
bird's-eye view from 30,000 feet to realize that ``something special did
happen on Sunday.''
He is the only full-time
player on the PGA Tour from north of the border, and his victory -- especially
at home -- could have the kind of impact on junior golf that Tiger Woods
delivered in America.
``I'd love to have
some steady company out there,'' Weir said.
Lost in the euphoria
is what Weir's persistence means to another populace.
In a couple of months,
dozens of young players with high hopes will try to keep their dreams alive
by grinding it out in Australia and South Africa, over in Japan or on the
Nike Tour.
They will hit some
bumps in the road, and many more will follow. Weir still thinks the most
important time in his career was also his lowest moment -- thousands of
miles from home, alone in a hotel room wondering if he will make it through
Monday qualifying, and then make a cut, and someday make it all worthwhile.
``If they can learn
anything from it, it can be done,'' Weir said. ``The tough road can be
overcome if you keep at it. They can use me as an example.''
And there are so many
instances from which to choose.
Weir finally made
it to the PGA Tour a year ago and promptly lost his card. No problem. He
returned to Q-School, which he not-so-affectionately calls the ``Fall Classic,''
and earned his card again by winning the tournament.
``This is a guy,''
Finchem recalls telling himself, ``who belongs on the PGA Tour. I hope
he makes it.''
It wasn't easy.
Weir was in the final
pairing in Atlanta for the BellSouth Classic and watched David Duval storm
by him, the second close call he had on tour in a month. Like Duval, a
runner-up seven times before he punched a hole through the dam, Weir never
panicked. He never quit.
He was paired with
Tiger Woods in the final round of the Western Open and put a scare into
the world's No. 1 player before finishing two strokes back.
But the resilience
of the spindly 29-year-old was never more clear than over the past two
months. Weir paid his way over to Scotland to try to qualify for the British
Open, opened with a lackluster 71 and then closed with a 66 -- getting
up-and-down on the last two holes -- to qualify on the number.
He had an 83 in the
first round at Carnoustie and then fought back with a 71, making a 10-foot
putt on the last hole to make the cut. He finished in a tie for 37th.
His first venture
into the pressure of a major championship on Sunday came at Medinah, paired
again with Woods, getting mercilessly heckled by a Chicago gallery with
every bogey that added up to an 80.
``I didn't beat myself
up at all,'' he said. ``You have to keep getting there. You can't always
win. There's so much luck involved in the game, and you have to learn to
deal with that.''
The Vancouver victory
makes him exempt for the next two years, but Weir wants more than that.
If he can finish strongly, he'll earn his way into the Tour Championship
and Stroke Play Championship, each with a $5 million purse. He'll go to
Augusta National.
Weir started the year
No. 308 in the world ranking and now is at No. 67. He already has his eyes
on becoming the first Canadian to play on the Presidents Cup team.
``It's just one win,''
Weir said. ``I want to build on it, and get better.''
