Mike Weir - Part 3 (Later Tour Wins and the 2003 Masters)

Lee Trevino 0:07

Straight down the middle. It went straight down the middle. Then it started to fall.

Mike Gonzalez 0:15

We had some fun opening up the California uh swing on uh in 2003, if we jump ahead. Uh a couple of times there, but uh uh between well tell us a little bit about uh uh 2002. Come close, didn't happen for you. What what what went on in 2002?

SPEAKER_01 0:37

What I remember 2002 was it was just kind of an odd year. I had um I seem like I made almost every cut. I I I don't think I I maybe missed one or two all year, but I just I couldn't finish. I didn't seem to finish high. I think I I seemed to finish between 20th and 30th every week. And I kind of attributed to my short game. My short game was just not not as sharp as I had been in the in the previous years, especially on the greens. I think you know, my statistics that year, my putting was was off a little bit. And yeah, if you're if you're not putting well, you're not gonna have super high finishes, no, no matter how well you're striking the ball. So that's what I kind of uh attributed to. And in the offseason, I spent a little bit more time in my basement just putting in the carpet. You know, we're in in Utah, I didn't I wasn't outside a ton, but I I spent a little bit more time on my fundamentals, getting my setup right, getting my eyes over the ball where I where I like to uh be, and and and I think you know, coming in 2003 I changed my attitude a little bit. Um uh my grandmother had just passed in the offseason, and maybe my perspective shifted a little bit um in in things and like not taking things for granted or something, I think it was a was a little bit of that. And um I I started off the year at uh at Phoenix with a with a very good finish, you know, maybe 10th or 11th, and that just kind of that gave me a little boost of confidence to start the year that I was on the right track and I putted much better at that Phoenix tournament, and um and then I started getting on a bit of a roll, the best role that I've ever had in my career right then.

Mike Gonzalez 2:15

Yeah, you so you show up in the desert uh and play Bob Hope tournament. At the time it was called the Chrysler Classic, Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. And of course that was back in that day, uh as you know, Bruce contested uh over five rounds, five courses, and uh uh you won that one by two over Jay Haas.

SPEAKER_01 2:34

Yes, um played great all week, and uh what I remember about that tournament was uh Sunday was a very blustery, really windy day um on Arnold Palmer's private course. And Jay and I were were paired in the final group. I believe Tim Heron was in contention and a couple others, and um it came right down. I think I was maybe one or two behind with three to go, and uh I birdied uh you know, I remember making about a 12-foot putt on 16. I rolled in a 30-foot putt on 17, and so all of a sudden I'm tied with Jay and I on 18, and um it's a par five that you can reach if you hit a good T-shot. And we both hit good T-shots. We were about identical distance off the T. And I was on the right side of the pharaoh, I was just on a bit of a downslope, and it was the hole was playing downwind, and I only had let's say 210 yards, so it was about a four-iron for me off the downslope, but I knew this ball would be coming in so flat off this little downslope, and over the back of the green was some pretty deep rough, and there was just no chance my ball would stay on the green. So I laid up. I I hit first and I laid up, and uh and then Jay decided uh to go for it from where he was and hit it in the water, unfortunately. I uh I'm not sure if he mishit it or or what, but um it was just it was a tough shot because it was downwind and to try to land it and keep it on the green was uh was was tough ask. And um in my mind, I was wedging the ball really well all week and I didn't want to take that chance. And um I won by two because I laid up and I wedged it close to May Birdie and Jay made a six. And I remember seeing Lanny Watkins after he's like, I can't believe you laid up on the I can't I'm like, Lanny, I'm like, have you seen my wedge game?

SPEAKER_00 4:17

I'm wedging it within eight feet almost every time. I mean, you know, so Lanny Lanny likes to give me the business. Yeah, Lanny thinks he went for everything, right? So yeah, not not only that he can't spell. Yeah, that's right.

Bruce Devlin 4:32

He doesn't know what to lay up, right?

SPEAKER_00 4:34

No doubt, no doubt. So we've had a chuckle about that. And uh um, you know, it it was it was a really fun day.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

You know, Jay Haas is one of my favorite people ever, and we just had a great day out there. It was is the way competition should be. We were kind of rooting for each other, and uh I didn't like to see that that happen on 18. Um the way the you know, unfortunately. Uh, but um we just had a great day out there. Yeah, I'll tell you, you know, you take it, you take it because it happens, it's happened to me too. So um, you know, it was really a fun day.

Bruce Devlin 5:08

And then three weeks later, you go to LA and you win there too.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

I won and I won I won there. I I think um I believe I don't I'm not sure if Pebble Beach was right between that or just after that, but I think I maybe finished second or third between that and then go to LA and uh play great there at Riviera. Of course I hadn't had a lot of success yet, but my confidence is is kind of at an all-time high now, and I'm just I'm feeling uh really, really confident in in my game. And I think I shot a a really nice final round to catch uh Charles Howell. Um and 66 on Sunday, and uh we went to a playoff and we we both part 18. We went to ten and uh he tried to drive the green and hit it in a fairway bunker to the right, which I thought was gonna be really difficult. And I laid up and hit a wedge to, I don't know, maybe ten feet, and he hit this fabulous maybe 50 yard bunker shot uh to about oh six feet, six or seven feet. Um and I made my putt first and he just his putt just slid by uh the edge and missed. But um so that was uh that felt like a bonus to me winning that one because I kind of came back from about I don't know, it was maybe four or five back starting the day. So that felt like uh kind of a bonus to get to get that one.

Mike Gonzalez 6:32

Well let's let's take you back to the Bob Hope for a second because um uh there were back in that day several celebrity tournaments, I guess, still. How much fun outside of the golf was it that week at the Hope?

SPEAKER_01 6:47

It was a lot of fun. That's when it started, um, I'm trying to think that year. I believe early in the week I played with George Lopez, you know, the comedian.

SPEAKER_02 6:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

Um there was uh I think Justin Timberlake was playing, just getting into golf then. So it was a real you know celebrity atmosphere. Um and lots of guys uh having fun at night. I didn't partake too much of that. Um I had a young family and they were with me quite a bit. Uh but you know, it was always a great time. Great time on the range, on the putting green, everybody uh kind of saying hello in the mornings and and catching up, uh lots of sports people. Um so uh I'm a big sports fan on all sports. So when you'd see guys like uh back then, you know, guys like Sterling Sharp and uh I think Pete Sampras was playing and uh guys like that, so you'd see on the range and you know, just to get a chance to to chat with them, you know, and see their games and see what they feel like, you know. So um I think that year I also played with uh Wayne Gretzky as a buddy of mine. We actually played in the ATT together that year, and that was a thrill, you know, because Wayne's uh you know was a childhood hero of mine. And uh he he would say, he would say, I don't know how you guys do this. Playing golf in front of people is so nerve-wracking. I'm like, you're the greatest hockey player, one of the greatest athletes of all time. And you're saying, he's like, Yeah, but we have a helmet on and we're just reacting to the puck, and we're it's in the flow of the game. You don't have you don't have time to think about it. Golf, that ball's just sitting there. I don't know how you guys do it. Yeah, funny comedy. Yeah. That was fun.

Mike Gonzalez 8:27

Thirty-three years before your victory at the Bob Hope, there was another uh fellow that uh happens to be on this podcast named Bruce Dublin, who won in 1970. You mentioned the uh ATT, which was the Bing Crosby clan bait. Of course, uh he had a longtime partner uh at that event that that then figured into uh a little bit to uh the aftermath of his Bob Hope win, didn't it, Bruce?

Bruce Devlin 8:51

Yes, it did. He was uh we're talking about uh Dean Martin.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

Oh, okay. That was your partner.

Bruce Devlin 8:58

He he was my partner at uh Crosby for 10 years. Uh and when I won the Hope, uh I was in the in the press room and I got a phone call, and uh the guy said to me, Bruce uh Mr. Uh Dean Beaman. Uh Dean Dean Dean Martin's on the phone. Uh he wanted to talk to you. So I pick up the phone. He said, uh, I just sent a plane to Palm Springs. You and Gloria are coming to my opening tonight at the Riviera Hotel.

Mike Gonzalez 9:29

No way.

Bruce Devlin 9:30

Wow.

Mike Gonzalez 9:30

In Las Vegas. Okay.

Bruce Devlin 9:32

Wow. Yeah, so so we went from we went from the Bob Hope to the Dean Martin opening of the Riviera Hotel. So that was pretty fancy.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

Yeah, that'd be a good high to do that.

SPEAKER_00 9:42

That would be cool.

Bruce Devlin 9:43

We we we got to sit right in right underneath the stage, right where he was. He was he was just great. Oh, that's cool. That's a great story.

Mike Gonzalez 9:51

No, no, Mike, Bruce doesn't talk about this much, but you can imagine the guys he met hanging with Dean Martin, right? He met the whole rack back pack, all those guys. He knows he he knows more, and he just he's I think he's gonna take all this to his grave because he probably saw some stuff that uh he could write a book on, don't you think, Bruce?

Bruce Devlin 10:11

Oh, yes, I probably couldn't. But uh they were they were, you know, I mean it's and it's so you know, it's funny because about two years ago uh I saw where his daughter, Dina, uh was had a had a birthday. And I don't know what possessed me to do this, but I I found an email for her and I just sent a little note and said, Happy birthday. Uh, you probably don't remember, but I got to got to play the crossy with your dad for ten years in a row, not ever expecting to hear from him. And about three or four hours later, I get a uh a note back to say, Oh yeah, I remember you and and dad played, she says, which I thought was I thought that was pretty that she'd even respond to it. Yeah, yeah. So great time.

Mike Gonzalez 10:58

So we talked about your win at Riviera, which uh what a what a great venue. And of course, uh majors played there, other big tournaments played there, you won that in the playoffs. You come back the next year, boom, back to back.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Yeah, yeah, that was uh that was fun, especially. I got on had a nice run there early in the week, I think. Um I'm not sure, maybe some some mid to low 60s uh through the first few days and um had a pretty good lead and kind of started letting it slip on the back nine. I uh uh made a couple of bogeys and uh Shigeki Marayama, who I was playing with, made made some incredible birdies and was playing great golf, and I was kind of faltering trying to keep it together and um and was able to make a great up and down on the 18th hole from over the back of the green as the rain started coming in. Uh hole played extremely difficult. I think it was early in the week, it was maybe a driver seven or eight iron into the eighteenth hole at Riviera, and I hit a very good drive on the 18th hole, maybe had a three-iron and missed it to the left in a tough spot, and you know, hit one of the best chips I've I've hit on on the tour to almost knocked it, almost knocked it in, almost chip, almost chipped it in. And uh I said the hole was playing difficult and Parro was good enough to uh to win by one.

Mike Gonzalez 12:18

Yeah, so the the last guy to go back to back before you was uh had been uh Corey Pave. Of course, we had Corey on the show last week, but you mentioned Lanny Watkins earlier, and I'm sure Lanny was quite quick to point out that he was the tournament scoring leader, at least up until that point.

SPEAKER_00 12:34

Yeah, I think you may have mentioned that to me. Uh, you know, did I I think maybe I clipped him. Did I clip him by one or two?

Mike Gonzalez 12:40

I don't know about that, but uh but I I I seem to recall that uh he blitzed that place at about 20 under maybe when he won there once.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

Oh then oh then I didn't I didn't clip him then. So I think I was I was threatening maybe going into Sunday, but I I kind of fell back on the on the back nine there to catch him.

Mike Gonzalez 12:58

I mean that came up once or twice, didn't it, with Lanny Bruce?

Bruce Devlin 13:02

Oh yeah, Lenny Lenny will remind you. He was he was fun to he was fun to have on the podcast, so as you can imagine, Mike. He was uh very enjoyable. And you you talk about your start there that year. You started 66, 64, 66. Yeah. So you had a you obviously had a a a substantial lead when you teed off on Sunday.

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Yeah, I it must have been three or four shots, probably, maybe five shots, um, which I don't think I had had on the PGHR before. So that was a a new thing for me. And uh the front nine I played pretty well. I think I still kept that lead, you know. I was still right around there, four or five. And um I made a little hiccup on the tenth pole. I remember I I laid up and had a nice little wedge to that that front, the pin that's on the far right. I got a little too aggressive. I've said my wedge game was very good. And you know, I came up about a yard short and I hit the lip and came back in the bunker. Now now you're in trouble uh there. And um, I was lucky to make a five, and I think I I remember three putting a hole maybe on about the 13th or 14th while Shigeki's making a birdie on 11, making another birdie. So, you know, a couple two-shot swings there, and next thing you know, you're tied. So it can have, as you know, Bruce, you can no lead is safe, it can happen fast.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

It can it can happen fast.

Mike Gonzalez 14:21

So let's fast forward to 2011. Then we'll finish up with uh final regular season tour win, which happened at the Fry's Electronics Open at Greyhawk. That was on the Raptor course. They've got the Talon course there as well. Um I assume they just use one course of the two during the tournament, is that right?

SPEAKER_01 14:42

Yes. I believe we just played the Talon course, yes.

Mike Gonzalez 14:46

Yeah, it was the first year for that event. You won by one over Mark Hendby Hensby.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Yeah. Um what I remember about that event again, uh Sunday became a very difficult day again. Very, very windy, you know, 20 mile an hour gusting to 30 mile an hour type type deal day. So it was uh you picked your chances. You you took your chances when the wind was with you, and you could get it, you know. There's a couple par fours where you could get it up close to the green, uh, a couple of par fives that you could take advantage of, and the rest of the golf course was uh kind of hold on and and try to make your pars uh best you could. It was kind of one of those days. And um I made a great up and down on the 18th hole. I believe we were I was one sh I had a one-shot lead on 18. Um it was a strong right to left wind for a lefty. It was a tough, tough, uh, tough wind with the water on the right um to a right pin with a right to left wind was uh nearly impossible to get the ball close to the green. I remember hitting a pretty good seven iron or something, and the wind just took it into the left bunker. And so the good thing was from the left bunker, I had it into the wind bunker shot and I hit it, uh hit a nice shot and um maybe a seven or seven or eight foot putt that I uh with the wind howling made that putt. So that was a that was a big moment. And and because it had been a couple of years, uh almost three years since I won, so that felt really good.

Mike Gonzalez 16:10

Yeah, well, you had a pretty good playoff record. I mean, you you you've recounted three playoff wins that that goes well with a couple of losses, one at the 2000 uh Michelobe Championship at Kings Mill, and the other was at the 2004 Bell Canadian Open. I'm sure you can look back at each of those and and look at two or three shots that you probably would have liked to have had over.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

Oh, no, no doubt. You know, I think you you go through your course of your career, there's a few shots you want to have back. Um that Canadian Open for sure, you know, that's one that you know I would have loved to have won and and hopefully still can. You know, I still feel like if we get back to playing in that here the next this next year, and my game's in good enough shape on the type of golf courses we play that I can still have a chance here. But uh that's one that, yeah, I feel like um slipped away a little bit. No, not taking anything away from VJ. He had that year in 2004, you know, one of the arguably one of the greatest years in the history of golf, nine wins on in one year, calendar year on the PJ Tour, and he was in full flight, I guess, uh his game. And uh, but that one, uh, I think I had a two-shot lead on the 16th hole, and I hit a wonderful shot into the 16th hole, above the hole, though, you know, maybe 15, 18 feet above the hole. And I'll never forget that that putt in my thought process was was the thing that I would love to have over. In my head, I was over the putt, and I thought, well, I'm gonna make this and this tournament's over. Um, with two holes to go, I'll have a three shot lead. And that was just the wrong thinking. I should have, because I was above the hole, the green was fast, I got a little aggressive and it rolled, you know, three feet by, three and a half feet by, and I missed that putt. So instead of just coasting it down there, and maybe it falls in the front edge, and but I'm not leaving myself anything. Um, you know, maybe maybe I'd I keep that two-shot lead and and VJ Birdied 18. I didn't birdie 18, so consequently we go to a playoff. So that's one, it was more of a mindset that I wish I I had over being too aggressive. And interestingly enough, I remember having lunch with Jack Nicholas one time and we were talking about it. And he had a similar thing that was that was so cool. Him talking about he did something similar at Pebble Beach one year and the I guess the old Crosby, where he was above the hole on 18 and got a little aggressive and Mr. Shortman coming back on the bumpy Poe Anagreens, which is easy to do. And he thought to himself that it was still eating at him 40 years later that he that he got still eating at him. So uh we we all uh we all have done some of those things that we want to look back and like shoot, you know, I had to do over, but we learned from them.

Mike Gonzalez 18:45

Yep. Let's talk a little bit about the major championships if we can, and we might as well start with the one that always comes first in the year, and that's probably your favorite. Uh let's talk a little bit about the Masters. Mike Weir had 22 starts, uh, 12 cuts made, two top fives, six top 25s, and of course the best finish uh winning a playoff in 2003 with Len Matisse. Why don't you take us through that week?

SPEAKER_01 19:10

Yeah, I think the thing for the Masters for me, I guess growing up in Canada, is that it was kind of the right of spring. It was kind of for us to see the Masters on TV and to see the flowers in this beautiful place. We were just kind of coming out of the winter, and if we were lucky enough in April, all the snow is off the ground and we're able to get outside and hit a few balls and putt. And, you know, as a kid, my you know, my first memories really are um probably Jack. I mean, I was 16. I mean, I know there were some some other wins that are slipping my mind right now, but Jack's win in 86. I remember running back and forth between our golf club TV and then running out to the putting green to putt, and then running back in to see what was going on with all the drama that was going on with Tom Kite and Sevi and Greg Norman and Jack, of course. Um, so that was always something for me, and I think my friends and my junior buddies that we played with, that we were always looking forward to the masters, and that was the start of golf season for us. So I'll start with that, and then you know, when I had the chance to qualify for my first masters after uh the nice year I had in '99, so uh 2000 being my first one, how exciting that was to drive down Magnolia Lane for the first time and get on the grounds. And I guess because I had watched the Masters so much, I did have a sense of familiarity with the place. Even though it totally exceeded my TV experience, I was blown away with the place. I did feel pretty comfortable on the golf course from the get-go, even my first year, I had a pretty good finish. Um, and I felt like the strength of my game was my short game and creativity around the green, so that served me well. And uh, you know, had a couple pretty good finishes before 2003. And and of course, in 2003, I was I was riding high on confidence uh from earlier year uh success that I had. And I also had a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I was not I was not asked into the press room. Um, I was not considered one of the favorites. And so in my mind, I I was. And uh so I use that to my advantage. And um I just kind of rode this little chip on my shoulder about that all week. Uh saying in my head, I just thought, well, they can talk about all these other guys they all they want, but um I feel good about my game. Uh not that I win, but I I was just like I just felt like um I'm very confident my game and what I'm doing, and uh if other people don't see it the way that's that's fine, but I believe in myself.

Mike Gonzalez 21:38

You know, Bruce, we've had we've had other guests make that same observation about you know, they felt like Mike did really good about his game, but they weren't considered a favorite, so they were sort of ignored in the press room, and they they they use that to to their advantage.

Bruce Devlin 21:53

Sure, absolutely. And and Mike, that that particular year when you won, the on Saturday you you You shot seventy five and I did. That sort of uh put you behind the eight ball a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 22:05

It did. It was um the you know, Thursday was rained out and um we had uh you know a long day Friday. I believe I played twenty-nine holes on Friday and then obviously we played I played uh what's that my mass my mouse escaping me here, twenty twenty-six holes or something uh uh the next day. And I I remember kind of at the end of the day, I let some shots slip on Saturday uh on on my last few holes. And I I kind of chalked it up to being a little bit fatigued and I didn't want to panic that I made a few bogeys and made a couple mistakes, and there were a couple mental mistakes that I made. So, but I was still tied for the lead, Bruce, going to Sunday. So I didn't want to put too much stock in it, even though I had let a three or four shot lead slip away. I still tried to tell myself, hey, I'm still tied for the lead, have a great chance tomorrow. Let's uh let's forget about yesterday, let's try to get a good night rest and um uh get my energy back, get get some good food and nutrition, and uh, and be ready to go uh for Sunday.

Bruce Devlin 23:13

So you closed with a 68 and then got into a playoff with uh Lane Matisse.

SPEAKER_01 23:18

Yes, and uh yeah, Sunday was a great day to uh you know, a number of things happened throughout the course of that day. You know, it was a bogey-free round, but it wasn't a stress-free uh bogey free round. There was lots of moments and big putts that I had to make to save some pars and to make some big birdie putts, uh, none greater than the 18th hole, uh, the 72nd hole, where um I hit a really good drive and a four-iron into the green that didn't quite get up the ridge. Uh when I struck the four-iron, I thought I was gonna be, you know, maybe within 10 or 12 feet to have a chance to win the tournament, and it didn't quite get up the ridge. I hit a low-flying shot. I was trying to get it to run up the up the ridge, uh, but it didn't quite get there, so I had a bit of a difficult putt from down below and uh didn't didn't judge the speed right and you know left myself a seven or eight foot putt uh to get into the playoff. And I've said this to to a number of people, uh you just don't want to you never want to wish that kind of putt on anybody because you're either known as the guy that three putted the 18th hole to lose the masters, or you know, you're you you you you make it and and see what happens. So it's it's the most pressure you ever feel in your life. And you know, to make a putt like that is is something that I'll I'll always remember because it's I'll never forget how quiet it was, how how so many thousands of people can be that silent. Um but my internal talk was very good. My internal talk about this putt was very good. I reminded myself how good I was putting all week. I reminded myself to stay within myself and and get locked on a very small specific target inside the hole and uh and to trust and to trust myself at this moment. So um good things came in my mind at the right moment. And that doesn't always happen in golf. Sometimes you you know you you you like to think that you can you know bring yourself into a good state of mind in crucial situations, and sometimes you succeed and others you don't, but that moment uh I I was able to get myself there. And then uh I think making that pot I had momentum going into play. If Len had been done for a while, you know, maybe he had been done for half an hour or 40 minutes, even possibly. So I had some momentum. We did both hit good T shots, uh, and uh Len was uh up first for second shot and pulled the shot slightly, you know, off you know, you there's quite a obviously quite a bit of slope on that tenth fairway, and uh he tugged it a little bit and uh you know kind of got on the wind a bit and and hit the slope and went to the left. So I was a bit in the driver's seat there from that point on.

Mike Gonzalez 25:57

And you uh let's just go back to the the T s the T ball because uh as a left-hander, uh I wasn't quite sure how comfortable you were because you were, I thought, uh more of a left-to-right player. How comfortable was that T shot for you?

SPEAKER_01 26:13

Well, that's a great observation, Mike. I I worked hard going into Augusta that year on my fade, you know, because I was more of a left-to-right player, uh, but I knew if I was going to contend at Augusta, I wanted to be comfortable hitting a fade. So um a lot and on the West Coast when I was playing and having success, I was working on a fade, and that was kind of serving me well. And so I I I put a lot of uh I guess preparation and attention on on hitting fades. And uh all week I had uh I drove the ball very well. You know, a lot is made of how well I putted well that week, which I did, but I really drove the ball well that week. I uh that that fade I hit you know on almost all the holes out there. That course really sets up for the right to left shot. So I hit a good one there.

Mike Gonzalez 26:57

As I recall, you hit a you hit a really good uh T ball there in regulation play on Sunday too, didn't you?

SPEAKER_01 27:03

I did. Uh and it was almost identical to where I hit it in regulation. I had the same club um and ironically enough, almost hit it in the same spot uh on the green. Um I had a little adrenaline, obviously, in the playoffs. So when I struck that seven-iron, it certainly looked like it was gonna get back there and get back to the pin. Um there was a little puff of wind that came up right when I hit that probably held the ball up three or four yards uh from having it release a little bit more. Um but you know, uh I I kind of played the hole pretty identical to what I did in uh regulation.

Mike Gonzalez 27:38

Yeah, so when that ball was in the air in on the playoff, uh that that shot in it 10 before before the puff of wind, were you thinking when it left the club face? Uh this could be really good.

SPEAKER_01 27:50

It was it was probably the most certain of a shot I felt all week. Like it came off uh I just remember hearing the sound when I saw the replay on TV, the sound of it coming off the club sounded you know great. And uh I remember that feeling. We all we all have the feeling, don't we, Bruce? When you know you just know it's right. And I I had that feeling. And then as I was watching the flight, I could just feel this puff of wind come in my face. Which the wind swirls around, I guess, so that's what makes it so special, you know. And I just felt it come up like, oh no. Yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 28:23

Yeah, it comes up shorter than what you probably uh thought, but you're subtly on the green. You got a you got an uphill right to left uh putt. No, no easy two putts, said Augusta, on any green, I don't think. And Len finds himself kind of stymied a little bit behind that pine tree on the left side of that green, didn't he?

SPEAKER_01 28:42

Yeah, he did. And uh you know, he was in a tough spot over there. And you know, because I was in a similar spot to where I was on the 72nd hole, I I you know experienced that putt. And uh so just kind of waiting to play it out, not not get ahead of myself, again, trying to stay in that good frame of mind, expecting when to get the ball up and down, and knowing that I'm gonna have to make a two-putt here.

Mike Gonzalez 29:06

Yeah, Lanny was on the call and and and you know, Lanny was observing of his shot uh that uh because the way that green is canted, uh it's not a problem if you leave it just short of the green, but by certainly you certainly want to be careful to go long because then you've got a really difficult putt coming back, and that's exactly what happened, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 29:25

Yeah, yeah, exactly what happened. And uh, you know, the green, I think speed surprised uh the both of us. And um, you know, before I had to, you know, my putt for power, or even before I uh yeah, I guess before I had my putt for power, you know, I knew that um I just had to kind of two putt from there and the and the tournament was over.

Mike Gonzalez 29:47

Yeah, the the the first putt you hit from from in front of the green, did you think when it left it was going to be much closer than it ended up being?

SPEAKER_01 29:55

I did. And um, you know, funny enough, uh, you know, they as as I was signing my card, um I was told later that they actually they they had rolled the green, you know, anticipating the playoff, and uh they had rolled the green, but they uh we were failed to be notified of this.

Mike Gonzalez 30:13

And uh they don't miss a trick, do they? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:15

So that was uh, you know, when I hit that button, it was coming up over the ridge and and kind of cruising towards towards the hole. I thought, well, that's perfect, you know. It just came off just like it did in regulation, and as it rolled eight feet by, I was I was shocked. I mean, I was just I couldn't, I couldn't believe it. So I had to take a breath and think as I walked up there and saw started looking around the hole. I started looking, does it look a little faster? What would I miss here? And uh and then of course Len hit his putt and and it rolled way by. I don't know. I I guess in the moment I just thought, you know, this is this is what playoff you know golf is, our adrenaline's going, and uh but come to find out, you know, we found this out later, and I thought, hmm, that's that's uh that's what happened there.

Mike Gonzalez 30:58

So knowing you could you could two-put that last little bit you had, uh uh uh were you lagging?

SPEAKER_01 31:05

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I mean, I want to make it, of course I want to make it, uh, but I want to put it out on that high side. If it just fell in the left side, that was great. But if it didn't, I didn't want to leave myself anything. And um, so yeah, definitely.

Mike Gonzalez 31:23

Well, uh, you know, uh Len Matisse to his credit had a heck of a Sunday shooting 65 that featured six birdies and an Eagle. He uh the thing that I didn't recall was uh um uh the trouble Jeff Maggart had on a couple of holes that day.

SPEAKER_01 31:41

He did. I was playing with Jeff that day, and he played very well. Um he had those two unfortunate mishaps uh you know on the on the third hole. He hit it in the fairway bunker, and when he hit his second shot, it clipped the lip. And I, you know, was kind of into my shot. I didn't I think I had glanced over and had no idea. And he's like, I think it hit me.

SPEAKER_02 32:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:03

And I went over and I said, What what? And he's like, I'm I'm certain it hit me. I felt it on you know on his on his chest. So um so that was super unfortunate. And he then he battled all the way back. Uh remember making a couple birdies, he made a birdie nine and ten and was was charging back and and then hit it in the back bunker on the twelfth hole, which is you know, as we know on that hole, it's uh anything can happen on that hole with a little wing gust at the wrong time, and he found himself in the back bunker. And you know, and then you're you know, the sand back there can be a little bit uh thin, let's say, and and um yeah, just found himself in a bad spot. And um but but he played great.

Mike Gonzalez 32:43

Yep. So you become the uh only Canadian male golfer to ever win a major, second left-hander to ever win a major, of course, uh the other being Bob Charles, who Bruce uh knows quite well. Uh it was the year for our listeners, just a reminder, it was the year of the Martha Burke protest, which sort of just uh fizzled out and went absolutely nowhere. But uh I can only assume that if you were to pick one major to win, uh that's the that's the one to win. Uh you know, you get the chance to do what uh we've talked to Charlie Cootie, what Charlie Cootie has done 49 years in a row, and that's go to that Tuesday champions dinner.

SPEAKER_01 33:23

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's in my mind, I mean, all the majors are are wonderful. I mean, the open championship is so special. And um for me, I think, as I said, yeah, I think the way I grew up and growing up in Canada and following the Masters and loving Jack Nicholas as much as I do and loving his game and how he influenced me so much, I think the Masters was always at the forefront of my mind. And uh so to win that one and uh and to go back and as you said, be there on the Tuesday uh dinner, and I'll have to share with you. So so the following year in 2004, where I'm I'm hosting the dinner, and my game's not in the best shape, and I'm I'm on the range late into the afternoon on Tuesday, and my caddy Brennan says, Hey Mike, you you better get in there. You you got this dinner to host. And um and actually, my friend Alistair from a childhood friend of mine is a chef back in Canada where I grew up, and he was actually preparing the dinner. The uh uh the folks at Augusta were so wonderful, they invited Alistair uh to come and and and cook the dinner and and uh with the staff at Augusta. So, anyways, I I go into the locker room and I'm getting changed quickly to go into the shower, and the champion's locker room is very small. There's one shower, and I kind of go busting through the door to hustle up, and and there was Jack and Arnold sitting on the bench in their towels, just waiting for the shower. And uh, well, I'm I'm I'm definitely third in line here, and and they're yelling at Tom Watson to hurry up and get out of the shower because we all gotta get showered up, and and I was stressed out, and that just kind of broke the ice.

SPEAKER_00 35:00

They're like, We're just sit down here, we gotta we got a ways to go waiting for Watson.

SPEAKER_01 35:04

So we had a chuckle, and uh it it it kind of calmed the nerves for me for the evening, and uh it was a it's it was a really special evening. I'll never forget it. You know, I I at the time uh Byron Nelson was hosting the dinner, and of course, as you know, Bruce, he Tom Watson was kind of mentored by Byron a lot. So yeah, so I was able to sit between them at the head of the table and to hear the stories between uh Mr. Nelson and Tom Watson going back and forth, and uh my recollection of how sharp uh Mr. Nelson's mind still was, uh even into his late 80s there, it was incredible. And uh it was just a really, really special night. And as the years have gone by, I I realize how how lucky I am to be there.

Mike Gonzalez 35:50

So what was on the menu?

SPEAKER_01 35:53

So I I asked my friend Alistair to uh put in put in charge or put together uh a Canadian themed dinner. So it was uh he served as a main course, it was elk. With uh we had potatoes from uh Prince Edward Island in in Canada. We had uh appetizers were smoked salmon and oysters and things from from out east, uh British Columbia. We had all Canadian wines and beers. Um and yeah, and in fact, uh Mr. Nelson liked it so much, he's like, How'd you come up with this? And I told him about my friend Aleister. I said, I didn't come up with my friend Alistair, who's a chef. And I said, in fact, he's here, he's down in the kitchen, you know, he he's helping the chefs at Augusta prepare it. So Mr. Nelson called for my friend Alistair to come up to the champion's locker room, and we all kind of gave him a standing ovation. So that was really fun to have a childhood friend and uh for him to share in that too.

Mike Gonzalez 36:47

That's neat. You know, one thing I didn't realize, of course, Bruce, you you might have known this, but until we started talking to all these major uh these masters champions, I didn't realize you guys had to pay the for the dinner.

SPEAKER_00 36:58

Yep, that was a pretty good bill that came my way after uh for that uh for that dinner.

SPEAKER_01 37:05

But yes, it's uh it's on the on the you know defending champion to uh to to pay pay the bill for that night. So well well worth it for sure.

Bruce Devlin 37:15

Well worth it for sure.

Mike Gonzalez 37:17

Well, Bruce Devil, it's been an absolute pleasure to talk to Mike Weir today, Master Champion 2003. Uh I know it's been fun for me. I'm sure it's been fun for you.

Bruce Devlin 37:30

It's been fun for me too. And uh one of these days, maybe we'll get Mike back and he'll tell us about his very early days in the game, and I might even tell him some stories about a couple of his uh Canadian friends, uh Stan Leonard, whom I'm sure he remembers, and George Newson and Mike. It's been a pleasure having you, pal. It's been a great day, and uh we thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_01 37:54

Oh, I really enjoyed it. Appreciate it, guys, and yeah, I'd be happy to come back. Uh I had a great time too.

Mike Gonzalez 38:00

Well, great uh good luck in 2022 on the Champions Tour.

SPEAKER_01 38:04

Appreciate it, Mike. Thanks, Bruce.

Mike Gonzalez 38:07

Thank you for listening to another episode of For the Good of the Game. And please, wherever you listen to your podcast on Apple and Spotify, if you like what you hear, please subscribe, spread the word, and tell your friends until we tee it up again with the good of the game so long, everybody.

Lee Trevino 38:31

It went smack down the fairway. Just make it offline. It had it for two, but it fight off line. Back at it, as long as you're still in the state, you're okay.