When the cheer
went up on the 14th hole at the $2.5 million Air Canada Championship today, everybody
who heard it knew what it meant - Mike Weir, the national favourite, was on the
move.
Fred Funk,
who was on No. 13, backed off his putt. And playing partner Carlos Franco, the
leader at the time, grumbled something. Weir, meanwhile, threw up his arms and
smiled.
"That
was pretty special. It came off perfect. I couldn't have imagined it or visualised
it any better. For it to go in, it was unbelievable," Weir said.
Sparked by the eagle 2 from 159 yards on No. 14, Weir recorded his first career
victory, and earned the first-place purse of $450,000, closing with a 7-under-par
64 and 18-under 266 total at the suburban Vancouver Northview Golf and Country
Club course.
In
winning, the 29-year-old Ontario native overcame a persistent drizzle to become
the first Canadian to win on tour since Richard Zokol won the Greater Milwaukee
Open in 1992. He became the first Canadian to win on native soil since Pat Fletcher
won the 1954 Canadian Open, which was held at Vancouver's Point Grey course.
"That's hard to describe.
Obviously, I don't think it's hit me yet," said Weir, who was 14 under par over
the final two days.
Funk, the third-round leader who shot a 68 Sunday, finished second at 268. Franco,
who had a 69, finished third, four shots behind Weir.
Beginning the day 11 under and two behind Funk, Weir gained a share of the lead
by going 3 under on the front nine, capped with a 25-foot birdie putt on 9. That
put him into a brief three-way tie atop the leaderboard with Funk and Franco.
After a birdie on 12 and a bogey on 13, Weir took control on the next hole.
From the first cut of rough
left of the fairway, Weir aimed his second shot at the pin of the par-4, 400-yard
hole. His shot hopped four times on the green before rolling 12 feet to bounce
in off the flag stick. The shot drew a momentous ovation from the large gallery
following Weir.
The eagle vaulted Weir to 17 under, giving him a two-shot lead over Funk and Franco,
who at the time was struggling to save a bogey, making a 25-foot putt on 13.
Weir then clinched the
victory with a 20-foot birdie putt on 16 that took him to 18 under, at the time
three shots ahead of Funk, his nearest contender.
The toughest thing was remaining calm after the eagle put him into the lead.
"I felt much more emotional
for some reason on the 17th tee. I was getting choked up walking to the tee,"
Weir said. "The people were so awesome. I still had to tell myself I had two holes
to play. I had to gather myself.
"Right
now, I'm even in a bit of a daze. Obviously, it's unbelievable to win. I couldn't
create a better scenario."
Funk made a hard charge with four birdies on the back nine, including a 30-footer
on 17.
Funk's last
hope to force a playoff ended when his tee shot at the par-4 18th landed in the
rough, forcing him to lay up in front of the pond guarding the green. He eventually
settled for a bogey.
"I
was just trying to concentrate on having a good tournament," said Funk, who also
finished second at the MasterCard Colonial in May. "I played good enough to win
and Mike played good enough and did win. I've got to feel good about that."
Weir, who has five top-10
finishes this season, is the ninth first-time winner on the PGA Tour this season
and becomes the sixth left-hander to win, joining Phil Mickelson, Bob Charles,
Ernie Gonzalez, Sam Adams and Russ Cochran.
The victory gives him just under $1.3 million in earnings this season, moving
him into the top 20 on the money list for the year. He was second at the Motorola
Western Open in July and was also in the final group with Tiger Woods at last
month's PGA Championship, before shooting a final-round 80 and finishing 10th.
Scott McCarron set a course
record with a 10-under 61. Opening the day tied for 47th in a group of eight at
2 under, McCarron began on the back nine, where he shot a 30, and then completed
his round with a 5 under on the front nine to finish in three-way tie for fourth
place at 12-under 272 with Phil Tataurangi and Payne Stewart.
McCarron's round broke the Northview record of 62 set by Joel Edwards, also on
the final day, in 1997. It also marked his career-low round, breaking his previous
best by two strokes, recorded at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in 1997.
