Mike Weir: 2003 Masters Winner Returns to Golf After Hiatus
By Matt Cochran
After taking a leave of absence last July, 2003 Masters winner Mike Weir returns to the game of golf this week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
To an outsider looking in, being a great golfer consists of having a great looking golf swing and the ability to dress well on the golf course. Not many people understand the how mental the game of golf really is.
Jim Flick has the famous saying, “90% of golf is mental and the other 10% is mental too.” As pretty of a swing as you may have, it won’t mean much if you aren’t mentally there for your round. Canadian golfer Mike Weir knows this first hand.
Weir is making his first start on the PGA TOUR since July of last year. He announced that he would be taking a leave of absence from golf from personal reasons.
Initially, I thought this might be another Dustin Johnson situation. Weir got caught taking some kind of PED or the PGA TOUR was planning on suspending him, but he just announced a leave of absence to cover the whole thing up for the PGA TOUR. That’s usually how suspensions have worked in the past.
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But now it’s become more clear why Weir walked away from the game of golf: he wasn’t mentally there.
It’s incredible how a golfer’s life can change if the mentality aspect falls off. Weir went from winning the 2003 Masters to fading away from the game.
After elbow surgery in 2011 to repair a torn tendon, the eight-time PGA TOUR winner never found his winning ways. He missed 56 of 79 starts over his next four years on TOUR, which include all 14 cuts in 2012 and 14 of 18 last year.
On top off missing the cut in most of the tournaments he entered, Weir’s personal life was falling off as well. He and his wife, Bricia, got a divorce which made it difficult for his two daughters. Weir told Brian Wacker of PGATOUR.com:
"“You’ve got to have a clear path in your mind. If you have a lot of distractions going on in your life it’s hard to play the game. I needed to step away a little bit.”"
For almost two months, Weir didn’t touch a golf club. Instead he spent time with his daughters traveling France and attending soccer practices. In fact, he barely even followed the tournaments.
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From elbow injuries to wrist injuries, the 45-year-old doesn’t have the flexibility he used to have in his swing, but he’s been working with David Leadbetter to make his way back, but he better hurry. Weir only has a few starts on a medical exemption to make enough money to gain his PGA TOUR card back.
He enter this week after playing in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship where he missed the cut, but has a few tournaments scheduled for after this week at Pebble Beach.
He’ll head to Northern Trust Open, a tournament he’s won twice, The Honda Classic, Valspar Championship and Shell Houston Open. All of those tournaments will be his warmup for Augusta National in the beginning of April.
Weir is one of the classiest golfers on the PGA TOUR and it’s great to have him back in the field this week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
He’s the perfect example of how brutal the game of golf is. No matter how nice of a guy you are or how much success you’ve found, it can take a turn for the worst in a matter of weeks. Karma doesn’t exist on the PGA TOUR.
Next: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am - Preview & TV Schedule
From all of us here at Pro Golf Now, welcome back, Mike Weir.