From Deseret News archives:

Weir-d day; Utahn could miss the cut

Defending Masters champion hasn't played well lately

Published: Friday, April 9, 2004 7:06 a.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
At the par-4 No. 7 hole he pulled his drive into the trees on the right and had no shot, so he punched back into the fairway from the pine straw. His wedge shot rolled within six feet, but he missed the putt on the high side to go to 3-over.

Weir finally put a birdie on the board at No. 9 when he rolled in a 25-foot putt to make the turn at 2-over 38.

After parring No. 10, Weir and his partners were on their way over to the 11th tee when the horn blared, halting play. It had been thundering for several minutes and within 10 minutes, the heavens opened and rain drenched the course.

Back on the course two hours later, Weir sank a 10-footer for par and a 12-footer at the par-3 12th hole to move to 1-over on the day. With only 22 players shooting par or better Thursday, Weir appeared to be in great shape, especially with two par-5s coming up.

But he pulled his drive at 13 into the pine trees again and made a nice recovery shot. He ended up on a sprinkler and got a drop, but he had a bad downhill lie and his shot came up short of the creek in front of the green and bounced onto a dirt shelf in the hazard. From there, Weir hit onto the green 15 feet from the hole and missed his par putt.

Story continues below
Weir parred 14, despite another pulled drive into the pine straw and he laid up with his second shot at 15. Seconds after his approach rolled back into the water, the horn sounded three times, signaling the end of play for the day and Weir slammed his club into the ground in frustration.

The players were allowed to finish their holes and after chipping up 10 feet away in 5, Weir missed his putt and had to take a double-bogey.

If it's any consolation, Weir is tied with three-time Masters champion and No. 1 player in the world, Tiger Woods, who shot a 40 on the front nine and was also 4-over par when play was stopped. Woods was in the group right behind Weir's.

If they don't play better Friday, Weir and Woods, who are tied for 55th, will be in danger of missing the cut —the low 44 players, ties and those within 10 shots of the lead.

Others in danger of missing the cut are former PGA and British Open champion John Daly, former PGA champion David Toms and last year's third-round leader Jeff Maggert, who all shot 78.

Weir wasn't even thinking about the possibility of missing the cut, which he's never done in four previous Masters.

"I've got three more holes tomorrow, and I've just got to be patient and keep playing — that's all you can do," he said. "When it's all said and done . . . three-, four- or five-under par could win the tournament."


E-mail: sor@desnews.com

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

Image
David J. Phillip, Associated Press

Defending Masters champion Mike Weir of Canada waits to play in the pouring rain.

previousnext

Latest comments

Editorial: 10 years of TRAX

Sorry earlier I meant to say that tracks seems to travel at 35 miles an hour...

'Peter Frumhoff, the director of science and policy at the Union of...

The Non-BCS crowd ought to create their own title game...their own brand, and...

Letters: Democrats' ethics

That's the whole of your defense of GOP resistance to badly-needed ethics...

Your criticism should hardly be focused on Bennett alone. What about all the...

'Wired's Threat Level blog reported on November 20 that Gavin Schmidt, a...

The reality of climate change is supported by multiple lines of evidence and...

BYU professor remembered

I had the priviledge of staying in the LeBaron home on severl occasions as I...

Letters: Growing jobless rate

So the unemployment rate has dropped to "just" 10%, huh? I wonder what that...

Ahh for the love of money...what money can buy!!!

Advertisements