Weir-d day; Utahn could miss the cut

AUGUSTA, Ga. — With the sun fading behind the tall pines in back of the 15th green, Mike Weir was in decent shape Thursday evening. About 100 yards from the green in two, Weir had a good chance to hit his wedge shot close and make a birdie on the par-5 hole and head into today's round on a positive note.

Instead, his approach shot came up a bit short, hopping on the fringe of the green before trickling down a slick slope into the creek, like so many shots at the treacherous No. 15 over the years. Weir ended up making a costly double-bogey that left him nine shots off the lead and in danger of missing the cut today.

Weir was one of 18 players who wasn't able to finish play in Thursday's first round of the Masters, which was delayed for two hours by a thunderstorm that rumbled over Augusta National in the late afternoon. He stands at 4-over par, well behind the 5-under total posted by England's Justin Rose.

The Draper resident, who is defending his 2003 title this year, had struggled through much of the front nine and appeared to be fighting back with birdies at 9 and 12 and a long par save at 11.

However, the two back-nine par-5s that have decided the outcome of many Masters on Sunday afternoon reached up and bit Weir.

He made a 6 at No. 13 after hitting his drive in the trees and his third shot to a bad lie in the hazard and then made a 7 at No. 15 in the dimming light just before play was suspended.

Afterward Weir could lament about two poor chip shots at the par-5s that cost him three or perhaps four shots, but he was unhappy with his entire game Thursday.

"I'm not playing well. I haven't played well for the last two weeks," he said. "I didn't hit the ball well and wasn't hitting it where I wanted. You can't do that around here."

All day long the left-handed Weir pulled his drives to the right, often leaving himself in the pine straw under the pine trees. He didn't know how to correct it.

"If I knew, I'd figure it out," he said. "I never felt comfortable all day. Sometimes you step on the first tee and don't feel comfortable and you end up turning it around. I wasn't able to do that today."

After getting pars on the first four holes, Weir made a double bogey at the tough 455-yard No. 5 hole. He hit his first poor shot of the day, pulling it to the right across the green and off, just in front of some trees. From a difficult stance in tall grass, his chip shot skidded across the green and off the front edge. He knocked his next shot eight feet past and missed the putt.