It's Weir's moment-again

Leading a Presidents Cup team in Montreal a natural fit for Canadian

- JASON LOGAN

Mike Weir will be making his Presidents Cup picks in the next couple of weeks. His International team is expected to include at least three Canadians.

Whenever PGA Tour officials decided Royal Montreal would host the 2024 Presidents Cup — a choice announced officially on Aug. 10, 2020 — it was a no-brainer that Mike Weir would skipper the International side.

Weir’s time as boss had arrived by the last matches in Charlotte in 2022 but, with Royal Montreal in the queue, the three-time International team assistant deferred his leadership by two years. After all, how could a Presidents Cup take place in Canada without the lefthander playing a central role?

Weir cemented his status as a Canadian sports icon in 2003 when he tapped in for bogey on Augusta National’s 10th hole to win a Masters playoff over Len Mattiace. Before then, the Brights Grove, Ont., native was a household name among golf fans for toppling giants in big events.

Among his five wins to that point were the 2000 WGC-American Express Invitational at Valderrama in Spain, the 2001 Tour Championship, where he beat Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els and David Toms in extra holes, and the 2001 Nissan Open at Riviera Country Club, the Los Angeles-based tournament all the big names play.

But when Tiger Woods slipped that famous green garment over his shoulders in Augusta’s Butler Cabin, Weir stood atop the golfing world.

Four years later, Weir fashioned the second most notable victory of his career, although it was one that came with no trophy or winner’s cheque. Heading into Sunday singles play at the 2007 Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal, the biennial matches between the U.S. and the International team were all but over. The Americans held a whopping seven-point lead through three days of play and needed to win just three of Sunday’s 12 matches to claim the Cup again.