AUGUSTA – Oh, Canada, a Canuck has been fitted for the 2003 Green Jacket.
Hockey-crazed Canada has a new sports hero in Mike Weir, whose footwear features golf spikes, not skate blades.
As the latest Masters champion and the first Canadian-born golfer to win a major championship, Weir will undoubtedly be held in the same lofty regard in Canada as his sporting hero, Wayne Gretzky.
Weir became only the second left-handed player in golf history to win a major championship, joining Bob Charles, who won the 1963 British Open. It was Weir’s sixth career victory, all of which have come-from-behind wins.
Weir did it yesterday – fittingly in the vernacular of his favorite sport – in sudden-death overtime, defeating former Long Island resident Len Mattiace in a tense one-hole playoff.
“Oh, it feels good,” Weir said as two-time defending champion Tiger Woods slipped the Green Jacket over his shoulders inside the Butler Cabin. “This is an unbelievable feeling, a thrill. This is a win for me and my family, but it’s a big win for Canadian golf.”
Weir’s stirring victory – he shot a final-round 68 – left Mattiace shattered and in tears.
Mattiace’s tears were understandable considering that he shot a brilliant final-round 65 and bogeyed No. 18, his 72nd hole of the tournament, to open the door for Weir – playing three holes behind him – to force the first Masters playoff since 1990.
Though Woods’ spirited run at an unprecedented third consecutive Masters victory was foiled by Weir’s great run and his own poor decisions and shoddy shot making, the three-time Masters champ shed no tears yesterday.
Woods left Augusta without his three-peat, but with class, admitting to poor course-management that played him out of contention. Going with a driver on the tantalizingly-short par-4 third hole, Woods double-bogeyed and never recovered.
“I got off to an ideal start (he was 2-under for the tournament) and made a mental blunder over on three and it ended up costing me,” Woods said. “It was a bad decision. I wanted to hit iron but Stevie [Williams, his caddie] said it was a better play [to hit driver].
“I went with it, but ultimately it’s the player’s call. Consequently I made the wrong decision there.”
Woods, who’d shot a third-round 66 on Saturday to position himself for a run at the three-peat, said he was aiming at a final-round 65 to finish 8-under, believing that would be enough. Instead, he went the other way.
“He’s human,” Scott Verplank said of Woods. “Well, maybe just today.”
Weir looked like he had super-human nerves on 18 yesterday, as he calmly drained a six-foot par putt that he needed to force the playoff.
“I wouldn’t wish that putt on anyone,” Weir said. “It was the most nerve-wracking putt I’ve ever had, the shot of my life. I mean, to three-putt to lose the Masters . . . I just remember bearing down. It was a gut-wrenching day.”
That went for both Weir and Mattiace.
Weir defeated Mattiace in the playoff with both golfers playing an edgy 10th hole. Weir bogeyed, Mattiace, with an errant approach shot that landed behind a tree, doubled, ending the tournament rather abruptly.
“The intensity was so high with the emotions of shooting a great score and it all just came out,” Mattiace said, describing his tearful breakdown. “I was in one of those zones. I was in a very good place, hitting shots just the way I was seeing them. It was a great feeling doing it. This week proved to me that I can do some great stuff.”
For Weir, it proved even more. It elevated him not only to the next level of to players in the world, but to hero status in Canada.
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MEET THE CHAMP
Name: Mike Weir
Born: May 12, 1970
Birthplace: Sarni, Ontario, Canada
Resides: Draper, Utah
Height: 5-9
Weight: 155
Wife: Bricia (12/19/97)
Children: Daughter, Lily (4/3/00)
College: Brigham Young
Turned pro: 1992
Joined Tour: 1998
Tour wins: 6
Career earnings: $11,212,923
PGA Tour playoff record: 3-1
*
MASTERS SCORECARD
HOLE/PAR/YARDAGE/MATTIACE/WEIR
1/4/435/4/4
2/5/575/4/4
3/4/350/3/4
4/3/205/3/3
5/4/455/4/4
6/3/180/3/2
7/4/410/4/4
8/5/570/4/5
9/4/460/4/4
OUT/36/3,640/33/34
10/4/495/3/4
11/4/490/4/4
12/3/155/3/3
13/5/510/3/4
14/4/440/4/4
15/5/500/4/4
16/3/170/2/3
17/4/425/4/4
18/4/465/5/4
IN/36/3,650/32/34
TOTALS/72/7,290/65/68
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FINAL SCORES
At Augusta National Golf Club
Augusta, Ga.
Purse: $6 million
Yardage: 7,290; Par: 72
a- denotes amateur
x- won on first playoff hole
x-Mike Weir, $1,080,000 70-68-75-68 – 281
Len Mattiace, $648,000 73-74-69-65 – 281
Phil Mickelson, $408,000 73-70-72-68 – 283
Jim Furyk, $288,000 73-72-71-68 – 284
Jeff Maggert, $240,000 72-73-66-75 – 286
Ernie Els, $208,500 79-66-72-70 – 287
Vijay Singh, $208,500 73-71-70-73 – 287
Scott Verplank, $162,000 76-73-70-69 – 288
Mark O’Meara, $162,000 76-71-70-71 – 288
Jonathan Byrd, $162,000 74-71-71-72 – 288
Jose Maria Olazabal, $162,000 73-71-71-73 – 288
David Toms, $162,000 71-73-70-74 – 288
Retief Goosen, $120,000 73-74-72-70 – 289
Tim Clark, $120,000 72-75-71-71 – 289
Davis Love III, $93,000 77-71-71-71 – 290
Angel Cabrera, $93,000 76-71-71-72 – 290
Paul Lawrie, $93,000 72-72-73-73 – 290
Rich Beem, $93,000 74-72-71-73 – 290
K.J. Choi, $93,000 76-69-72-73 – 290
Tiger Woods, $93,000 76-73-66-75 – 290
a-Ricky Barnes 69-74-75-73 – 291
Bob Estes, $72,000 76-71-74-71 – 292
Brad Faxon, $57,600 73-71-79-70 – 293
Adam Scott, $57,600 77-72-74-70 – 293
Scott McCarron, $57,600 77-71-72-73 – 293
Chris Riley, $57,600 76-72-70-75 – 293
Nick Price, $57,600 70-75-72-76 – 293
Sergio Garcia, $43,500 69-78-74-73 – 294
Charles Howell III, $43,500 73-72-76-73 – 294
Darren Clarke, $43,500 66-76-78-74 – 294
a-Hunter Mahan 73-72-73-76 – 294
Fred Couples, $43,500 73-75-69-77 – 294
Kevin Sutherland, $36,375 77-72-76-70 – 295
Loren Roberts, $36,375 74-72-76-73 – 295
Nick Faldo, $36,375 74-73-75-73 – 295
Rocco Mediate, $36,375 73-74-73-75 – 295
Shingo Katayama, $31,650 74-72-76-74 – 296
Billy Mayfair, $31,650 75-70-77-74 – 296
Kenny Perry, $27,000 76-72-78-71 – 297
Robert Allenby, $27,000 76-73-74-74 – 297
Justin Rose, $27,000 73-76-71-77 – 297
Phil Tataurangi, $27,000 75-70-74-78 – 297
Craig Parry, $27,000 74-73-75-75 – 297
Jeff Sluman, $23,400 75-72-76-75 – 298
Pat Perez, $22,200 74-73-79-75 – 301
a-Ryan Moore 73-74-75-79 – 301
John Rollins, $21,000 74-71-80-77 – 302
Jerry Kelly, $19,800 72-76-77-79 – 304
Craig Stadler, $18,600 76-73-79-77 – 305
