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By Kent Larsen
LDS Golfer Weir Closes Year With $1,000,000 Win
SOTOGRANDE, SPAIN -- Pro golfer Mike Weir ended the PGA Tour season
yesterday with a win in the WGC American Express Championship at the
Valderama Country Club in Spain. Finishing at an 11-under-par 277,
Weir picked up a $1,000,000 check and frustrated golf phenomenon
Tiger Woods' attempt to earn an unprecedented $10 million and become
the first player in 50 years to win 10 Tour events in a season.
Weir finishes the year with total earnings of $2.5 million from 28
events that he entered. He missed the cut in just four events and
withdrew once. He also had six top ten finishes, including
yesterday's win, the second in his career.
After falling as much as nine strokes behind, Weir finished very
strongly to win the tournament, missing only three greens in the
final 36 holes and closing with rounds of 65 and 69. He also managed
to avoid trouble on the tricky 17th hole that left many other
players, including Woods, perennially in water hazards.
Weir credited his win to getting his posture right. "I keep notes of
certain tournaments that I play well, when my swing is feeling a
certain way," he said. "I hit on a key that this is my sixth
tournament in a row, and I think my posture was getting a little
sloppy." He also says that winning the championship was great, "It
feels fantastic," Weir said. "There were so many players with a
chance to win. My plan was to just try to keep hitting the ball
solid. That's how I was kind of able to keep my composure today."
But Weir says he's most pleased that he could come back from nine
strokes behind to win, "Though it is obviously great to beat a field
that includes Tiger Woods, the way I came back over the weekend,
pleased me most."
Sources:
Notable accomplishment
CNNSI 12Nov00 S2
Weir relies on past experiences to right his game
and
Weir shows his maturity
Dublin Ireland The Irish Times 13Nov00 S2
By Dermot Gilleece
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