Following struggles, Mike Weir happy to play in PGA Tour event

After spending the last year playing golf in such places as Italy, Morocco, Fiji, Australia, and South Africa, Canadian Mike Weir returns to the PGA Tour this week for the first time since last year’s RBC Canadian Open.

Weir, of Sarnia, Ont., is a past champion at the CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, Calif. He’s in the field on a sponsor exemption alongside six other Canadians including Adam Hadwin of Moose Jaw, Sask., who finished second in 2017.

Weir, the 2003 Masters champion, has been relying on special invitations to earn starts on the European Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia since he has very limited status on the PGA Tour. His tie for 15th at the Australian PGA Championship in November was his best result since a tie for 21st at the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur in 2014. Since then, Weir has missed 25 cuts and withdrawn five times on the PGA Tour. Despite setbacks and injuries, the 47-year-old shows no signs of giving up.

“My game feels good,” Weir said. “Since Australia, I had a month off. Last week was OK. I shook off a little rust. I was a little bit inconsistent, but a lot of good things. Overall I feel good, there's a lot of power back in my swing again.”

As he gets older Weir said keeping his back strong is key otherwise he’s working mostly on core strength and stability. He’s battling a knee injury after “landing funny” while walking a course in South Africa early last week. He’ll get an MRI on his right knee at the end of this week but his doctor said he wouldn't do any further damage if he played.