ESPN.com - Golf Online - PGA Championship 2000 - Weir learned from 1999 experience

By Greg Robertson
ESPN Golf Online
Wednesday, August 16

Mike Weir found himself in unfamiliar territory during last year's PGA Championship. If it happens again this year, Weir believes he'll react much differently.


	Mike Weir will be the first Canadian to play in the Presidents Cup in October.

He took a share of the lead into the final round at Medinah Country Club, paired with Tiger Woods on Sunday in search of his first victory on the PGA Tour. It didn't happen, as the left-hander shot a final-round 80 to fall into a tie for 10th as Woods marched to his second major championship title.

The final round began poorly, and Weir found himself pressing.

"I became really impatient. I got behind early and found myself trying to be aggressive," he said. That's something you can't do during a major championship, and Weir paid the price.

"I had five three-putts during that final round. The more aggressive I got, the further behind I fell," he recalled.

Of course, it didn't help that Weir was playing with Woods, the most popular player in the game. An already crowded golf course seemed even more so to Weir, trapped by the massive following of Woods.

"Sometimes it took five minutes just to get off the green to the next tee," Weir said. "That didn't help my patience."

Weir had played a final round with Woods just one month earlier at the Western Open. The crowds there didn't seem as confining, he said, leaving him unprepared for the difference at Medinah.

Whether it was playing with Woods or playing in the final group at a major, Weir found himself and his game slipping away. But it proved to be a learning experience.

"I knew at the end of the day what had happened," he said. "I was going to use that to my advantage."

He wasted no time putting the lessons to a test. Three weeks later, Weir again found himself in contention, this time in front of a partial crowd at the Air Canada Championship outside Vancouver.

Once again, Weir got off to a shaky start. But this time, he remained patient. When he holed out from the fairway for eagle late in the round, he had his first PGA Tour title in sight. He finished with his second consecutive 64 and his first victory.

That propelled him to 23rd on the money list, berths in the Tour Championship, Mercedes Championships and all four majors this year. It has given him preferred tee times and pairings with other winners during the opening rounds of every event he plays.

"I think I've found my comfort level and my confidence," he said. "The pairings have been great, because you're playing with the type of players who have won. And that allows you to feed along."

His confidence has been apparent during the 2000 season. Although he hasn't won, he has seven top-10 finishes and is 30th on the money list. He is 34th in the World Rankings, which all but guarantees him a spot on the International team at the Presidents Cup in October.

"The Presidents Cup was a main goal of mine this season," he said. "I'm really looking forward to it, because I haven't played a team event since college."

He's pleased with his game despite not winning again, and says he'll remain happy as long as he keeps improving.

"I just haven't put four solid rounds together in the same week," he said. "I want to keep getting better. I feel like I have a long ways to go."

And if that journey takes him to the final pairing at a major again, particularly this week at Valhalla, he feels mentally ready to handle it.