Weir admits his game was less than sharp

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Mike Weir will award the green jacket to the 2004 Masters champion today, then return to Utah with some pleasant and not-so-pleasant memories of his first Masters week as a former champion.

Even though he posted the worst-ever opening round by a defending champion, Weir bounced back from his opening-round 79 with a 70 to miss the cut by one shot and one golfer.

One golfer?

Yes. If one golfer of the 13 golfers at 4-over 148 had hit one more stroke the first two days, then Weir and 12 others would have made the cut, since the low 44 golfers and ties make the cut. Weir was tied for 45th.

Or, if second-round leader Justin Rose had scored one shot worse, then Weir would have made the cut under a Masters rule that states any golfer within 10 shots of the lead after two rounds makes the cut.

Or, if Weir had hit the green with his approach shot at No. 18 and made a par, he would still be playing. Or if he hadn't missed a short birdie putt at No. 15 Friday or not hit in the water at 15 the day before . . . we could go on and on.

The simple fact is, Weir wasn't at his best at Augusta this past week.

"My game hasn't been very good the last couple of weeks," he acknowledged. "I wanted to play well, but obviously I wasn't real sharp this week. This is not the golf course you want to be playing without your best game."

At least Weir can look back on much of his experience last week at Augusta with fondness.

When he first arrived at the club Sunday night, the top line on the register had been left blank for him in his honor. He was escorted to the exclusive Champions locker room upstairs at the clubhouse, where only former champions are allowed.

On Wednesday, he played in the annual par-3 contest with Jack Nicklaus and Fred Couples and on hole No. 2, made a hole-in-one. He was able to let his former golf teacher from Canada, Steve Bennett, caddy for him, which was a thrill for both.

On the first day of the tournament, Weir's name stayed atop of the leaderboard all day, just out of deference to him being the defending champion, even though he wasn't among the leaders.

He received ovations every time he walked by the various grandstands, even when he hadn't done anything special. The Augusta patrons were just showing their respect to the reigning champion. That's a courtesy he may get for years to come, but not likely as much as this year as the defending champion.