Mike Weir

The Canadian Open Golf Tournament is upon us and is being played at the beautiful Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club in spectacular Vancouver, B.C. The Canadian Open has gone through many changes over the years, at one point it was thought of as almost a fifth Major. The date has changed, it has now been plunked in the week after The Open Championship, which of course has really hurt the field over the last couple of years....coming from Europe On Sunday or Monday and going to Canada is really not an easy thing to do. However this year, there is a great field, Number one in the World, Luke Donald is here, Paul Casey, young guns like Rickie Fowler and Anthony Kim and a great group of Canadians, led by Matt McQuillan who is currently sitting in second 1 stroke off the lead after day 1.
It is Mike Weir I want to talk about briefly. When you talk to people about Mike, I always get different reactions. I have friends that call him a choker...he can't perform on Sundays...he is washed up etc. I am of course, a huge Mike Weir fan. I think he embodies all that is right with an athlete. He is talented, humble, dedicated and focused. Some people might argue that point with me, feel free.
I really empathize with what he is going through professionally. He has struggled with injuries and his swing is reinvented more times than my swing (and that is a lot). It makes the average golfer wonder, with all the technology available and all the coaches, sports psycholigists out there, why can Mike not find the fairway off the tee. Look at these stats from yesterday.  

Mike Is 147 out of 156 in driving distance and 155 in driving accuracy and 155 in Greens in Regulation. Brutal. Oh, tied for 5th in putting in Greens in Regulation...but he never gets on the green.

Any of you athletes out there must understand the frustration he is going through. In 18 holes I can hit more fairways than Mike Weir, even with my banana slice and duck hook combination. There is something wrong with that.

I really know nothing about his problems with the mechanics of his swing, but I personally think it is 98.6 % mental. I mean he has been hitting fairways since he was probably 8 years old. Striping the fairways is second nature for these guys.....and boom all of a sudden 155 out of 156. Frustrating to be sure.

I will continue to watch this weekend with interest....I love golf....but I am here to say that I am pulling for Mike Weir to figure it out.....Relax Mike...think back to playing golf with your buddies when you were a kid....laughing, having fun, and start to stripe some fairways, it will all turn around for you....and I am going to be cheering you on.