Master champion Mike Weir will be the man to watch when he returns home to his native country of Canada this week. He will compete in.the 93rd playing of the Bell Canadian Open, contested this year at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Ancaster, Ontario.
Weir, who has won a total of three times on the PGA Tour this year, is the first Canadian to don the green jacket as the Masters champ.
Though he has never fared well in his country’s national championship - at one point missing nine consecutive cuts - Weir obviously will be bringing a lot more confidence to the table this time around.
Although there hasnt been a Canadian-born winner of the Canadian Open since Pat Fletcher in 1954, Weir hopes to end that drought to complete a Masters/Canadian Open sweep. That would be a first for a Canadian.
Ian Leggatt tied for 16th and had the best finish by a Canadian at the Canadian Open in 2002 at 11-under par.
Defending champion John Rollins will also be on hand after winning last year’s event in a playoff over Neal Lancaster and Justin Leonard. Lancaster, who just about had the tournament wrapped up, double-bogeyed the 72nd hole to set up the playoff, which Rollins won with a 20-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole.
Four of the last 10 Canadian Opens have gone into a playoff, and last year’s playoff marked the 16th time for extra holes in the event’s 92-year history.
Despite losing in the playoff, Leonard was the only player in the field in 2002 to post four rounds in the 60s.
This year will mark the fourth straight year that the tournament will be played at a different venue. Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario, played host to Tiger Woods 2000 victory. Scott Verplank then won at Royal Montreal and last year Rollins prevailed at Angus Glen Golf Club, just outside of Toronto.
Related Links:
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up
