GENUITY CHAMPIONSHIP

March 1, 2001

Mike Weir

MIKE WEIR: Obviously it was an exciting day out there. A little more than what I expected obviously. I am not known as a fast starter. I will take it. I made a birdie on the first hole, a 15 foot putt there got me in a rhythm with my putter. That seemed to be the tone for the day. I felt comfortable on the greens. That was kind of the key.

MIKE WEIR: Yes.

MIKE WEIR: No. 3, I got a great break there, I hit it -- just in the rough on the left-hand side, short of the bunker on the left, had I think about 140 yards, was trying to hack something out to have it land on the front of the green, hopefully run up there on the green, having to come out perfect land out of the rough, with top spin, rolled in the hole. I got a great break.

MIKE WEIR: 9-iron.

MIKE WEIR: About 140 out of the rough. Then very next hole rolled in a ball, rolled in probably a 35-footer on the next hole. That was probably going eight feet past. I just got two great breaks right out of the gate. From there I settled down. I felt like I hit a good shot into five that just missed it. I guess I birdied 6, hit a great drive, I think 9-iron into 6 to, you know, eight feet, I think. Rolled that one right in. Made a nice save on the next hole from the back bunker. My putt was probably four feet. Then, No. 8, hit a really good drive, left myself a 4-iron from 220 yards, hit it about six feet with that 4-iron and played that putt. It could have been either way, I was 7-under, had a few breaks. I started playing better at that point. Hit a good shot in 9, just missed one, ten and eleven -- 10 I had about an eight foot putt and missed it. 11 I did not have a close chance. 12, I hit two shots down there, had about 70 yards. Hit it about six feet behind the hole, seven feet, made that putt. What else do we have here?

MIKE WEIR: 13 is par 3. Had a good drive on 14, 8-iron to probably 18 feet to the right of the hole. I made a really nice putt there. The par 3, probably 30 feet. 16, I hit a great drive, left myself 70 yards, did not hit a good pitch, to about 15 feet, missed that. 17 was off the left side of the green, chipped it up close, tapped it in. 18 hit a really nice drive, faded down around that bunker, left myself just a wedge on the last hole. Hit that probably I want to say twelve to fifteen feet behind the hole; made that putt. The putter was -- really was hot today. That was the key.

MIKE WEIR: Any time you shoot sub 30 nine holes, it kind of crosses your mind. I was trying to stay focused on the shot at hand. I was quickly I guess -- those thoughts flashed out of my mind when I hit -- hit a nice drive on ten, left of the bunker, rolled between the fringe cut and the fairway, just nestled right against there. If I was an inch out, I would have been able to hit a 3-wood on the green; I had a bad lie, pitched it down there. That was probably, if I was going to get anything from the back nine, probably needed something there. On ten and eleven you should have a good chance, I did not.

MIKE WEIR: Yes. It came up short of the edge of the fairway. A little left of where it was, I had a good shot, to about 10 feet. It was sitting down pretty good.

MIKE WEIR: It was a 9-iron. It flew. It was like I want to say 123 to the front, probably flew 128, the guys said it rolled in like a putt, hit and curled right in.

MIKE WEIR: The last year and a half or so, I have been playing a lot better, the more you are in contention to win tournaments, you feel like you belong more, like you belong in that position. At the start of the week, you know, there is just like a calm over you, a little more calm, the week is starting, if you stay patient, play your game, hopefully things will come along and you can be in contention. That has come through experience and a lot of experience through the Canadian and Australian tours I have played. I only have been out four years, but been a pro nine or ten years. Experience factor is huge.

MIKE WEIR: There were a couple of carts behind. They were yelling back and forth.

MIKE WEIR: Second or tee shot?

MIKE WEIR: I stayed with it. I started my routine right over. I was distracted.

MIKE WEIR: Head cover right on.

MIKE WEIR: Take two.

MIKE WEIR: I don't know what they were saying. The carts were moving. I don't know what they were doing.

MIKE WEIR: When I am very focused and discipline is good, I do. That is what I try to do, yes.

MIKE WEIR: Those years what I did before coming to Q-School, I played the Canadian Tour. My routine kind of was play the Canadian Tour, which started early May and run through the end of September or mid-September. Then I go to the qualifying school. And miss. Then go down to Australia and play. I play like three or four tournaments before Christmas, come home, play three or four more, come home, then the Canadian Tour starts again. Try the routine again.

MIKE WEIR: Before I got my card the first time was, I got it on -- my card, on my fifth try. Then I had to go back the next year, again.

MIKE WEIR: Sure. And a lot of lean years. My wife had to carry the bag, because we could not afford to pay a caddy. There are stories about that, about a lot of guys, not only myself. There were a lot of lean years.

MIKE WEIR: I think just perseverance, and love of the game. And a commitment to be better. That has always been -- I will always try to be better than I am now.

MIKE WEIR: No.

MIKE WEIR: No. I had great sponsors in Canada that helped me get along. I was never starving, but it was like an apartment -- when I played in Australia, we got rid of the apartment, put everything in storage. When we came back, pulled everything out; get another apartment. That was kind of the deal for my wife and I for a few years.

MIKE WEIR: No, never considered chucking it all. Tried to consider how to get better.

MIKE WEIR: Someone wrote that. That was just a total -- someone said that on TV, I think said I worked in an Italian restaurant. I said, where did you get that from. They got us mixed up. It wasn't me.

MIKE WEIR: It wasn't me.

MIKE WEIR: I changed my swing significantly in the last five years. That has been the major thing. I was never -- I always knew how to score but did not strike the ball that well. I told this story many times, being on the range besides Nick Price in the early '90s at the Canadian Open in 1994, hitting beside him, I had an exemption to the tournament, decided there is no way I can compete with this guy unless I do major changes to my game. It was at that point I searched and tried to make my swing better.

MIKE WEIR: Yes.

MIKE WEIR: Mike Wilson. Still is now.

MIKE WEIR: I think it is old hat, between Phil winning almost 20 times here now, I won a couple of times, Steve Flesch has been playing well the last couple of years, there are six of us out here now in total. I don't think it is a novelty any more.

MIKE WEIR: No.

MIKE WEIR: I think so. I know the scoring has been a lot better this year, especially. Been a lot of low numbers, but the weather has to be right. Still you have to put the ball in the hole. I am still real excited about it.

MIKE WEIR: Yes, it was, perfect for scoring. Usually the last few play difficult. On 17, usually it is a good drive. I hit a 3-wood and a 9-iron there today. Hit a driver wedge and -- that usually does not happen --

MIKE WEIR: Possibly. I don't know about all in mid-sixties. The course is definitely there for the taking a little bit, as the week goes on, the grind will get a little bit tougher, and faster, always when Saturday and Sunday comes, it is more difficult to shoot 62 than on Thursday. I have to keep doing what I am doing. Hopefully it will pan out.

MIKE WEIR: Yes, I would agree with that. I never liked to use that as an excuse. It would be a little bit more difficult because of the weather factor.

MIKE WEIR: Only an hour, actually

pretty much an hour west of Detroit, a little bit southwest of Toronto.

MIKE WEIR: I think it could be. It has not been for me; I am lucky. In the last two years, my coach, he has been swinging left-handed to train his brain and everything to be left-handed. He has gotten pretty good, actually (laughter. )

MIKE WEIR: Yes. I do end up coaching him by the end of the day when we are working. Through my college years, I never worked on my swing, I learned how to score first, I had almost a slap-shot swing, shut club face, trap the ball and, really, from my old hockey

days, that is what I did, I swung, never really thought about it until, it was like in 1994, when I was hitting balls besides Nick Price, I was saying, I need to work on this, get my swing better. It is not -- sure, it is about creativity, imagination, using those assets, but you have to hit the ball solid.

MIKE WEIR: I think the first thing I did, I read Ben Hogan's 5 Fundamentals, was the first step. Studied the guy I played with, Nick Faldo's swing, Nick Price's swing quite a bit. I started working with a man named Clay Edwards out of Houston. That drive got a little old, from Salt Lake, 27-hour drive, the drive to Houston, was a little old. After a few times of that, I started looking elsewhere. Actually my caddy Brennan (ph) who used to work in Palm Desert, that is where Mike is, started taking lessons from Mike first before I did. I watched him take a lesson, got talking with Mike. We hit it off. I start working with him, as well.

MIKE WEIR: I do not feel that, there is that big a gap as what there used to be. I still think he is -- as far as a -- as solid as he hits the ball, I don't know if there is anybody better. Tiger is right there with him, but Nick hits so solidly. I still love watching him hit balls. It is awesome to watch. There is -- when I hit balls beside him, it is not a factor I feel inferior. I feel if I put my game together, I can have as good a chance as anybody in the field.

MIKE WEIR: I think one was -- was experience, I really hit on something, I made an 8 on that 17th hole Friday, was disappointed, because I was in the tournament, then fell back, I was 8 in on the weekend. I went to work hard in my hotel room, I had a mirror up, I was hitting okay, but I knew something was off. I got to the range, went a couple hours early to try their theory out on Saturday morning that I felt like, that was just off a little bit, more than just my ball position, shoulder alignment. And a little bit of my posture got sloppy. I went to the range, tried it out, felt good, had breakfast; had this new feeling of confidence, that I figured it out; that is what is excites you when you figure it out, then you see it on the range. When I went to the course on Saturday, the first tee I had a ton of confidence. I really did. My first bogey was on 15 on Sunday.

MIKE WEIR: The World Golf Championship gave me a lot more, just with the type of players right there at the end. Those are the guys that will be there for the next few years, I believe, contending in Majors and more golf championships and more important events. It is a win -- you can recall those from your memory banks in important situations.

MIKE WEIR: You have to concentrate on the ball, not watching the score board. There is time for that. You really have to focus on your own game and to the look who is creeping up the board, falling back or what is going on. There is a time for that. Like, for instance, Valderama, on 17, when the guys played big numbers, I did not know what was going on. I wanted to find out so I could play conservative; not have to take a chance. It would be a shame if I took a chance, thinking I had a one-shot lead and blew it, when I really had a three-shot lead. That is when I needed to know.

MIKE WEIR: No, you have to be really patient. You cannot get caught up in score, I believe, you have to go out, play your game. When I arrived Monday and played my practice round Tuesday, I could not believe how perfect condition the course is. The fairways are the best Bermuda I have ever seen. The greens are rolling well. You know there will be good scores. You have to stay patient. The ball will be rolling well on the greens. You have to stay patient. I felt like I was patient today, even though I shot 10-under. I got good breaks, it turning into 62. I did not force that 62 in there.

MIKE WEIR: Earlier in my career, it does take learning, takes discipline to keep going low. You have to stick to the same things; that is why when Bob asked me about No. 10, those are the things that keep you in the right frame of mind when you are distracted or, whatever distraction, you have to get back and do the same thing. That is -- if you keep doing the same things, you do not think about how low you are doing, you do the same thing.

MIKE WEIR: If you are not -- maybe some players. If you are not, you know, focused that way, you just -- just thinking, I am 6, 7-under, it keeps adding this anxiety or pressure, it makes it more difficult. I think that is experience in learning that. That takes practice, too.

MIKE WEIR: Two. Three, no.

MIKE WEIR: Yes. I will go to Flesch's bag, see what he has, irons or woods, he will do the same to me. That is the one factor that is still difficult out here, for a left-hander anywhere, when something comes out for a lefthander, it comes out longer. If you see something new, it is a neat novelty, you want to try it out.

MIKE WEIR: We had a great crowd following us today. Canadian fans are not only supportive not only in Canada, but everywhere I play. It is fantastic.

MIKE WEIR: Unfortunately, I have not seen Bob -- watch Bob putt?.

MIKE WEIR: Unfortunately, I have not. I want to. He has been known for his whole career, as a good putter. It would be good to pick up a few tips from him.