Perfect Pitch

Mike Weir fended off a Sunday charge and won his second straight Nissan Open with a shot that would've made his avatar, Ben Hogan, proud

By Gary Van Sickle

The trophy that goes to the winner of the Nissan Open features a sculpture of a golfer finishing his swing. The figurine looks a little like Ben Hogan, a legendary figure at Riviera Country Club after his wins there in the 1947 and '48 L.A. Opens and the '48 U.S. Open. The golfer wears the same flat-clothed cap, and has the same steely forearms and determined look. Hogan, however, seldom wore knickers, and the statuette's weak right-side finish is straight out of an Arthur Murray dance studio.

Weir (above), who had either gotten up and down or holed out on 19 of 25 previous tries, pitched to within inches on the 72nd hole to edge the fast-closing Maruyama. Robert Beck

The trophy's a good-looking piece of hardware, though, and Mike Weir needed to use both hands to hoist it over his head on Sunday evening after he had won it in decidedly un-Hoganesque fashion. As dark, swollen rain clouds ominously drifted in from the Pacific, Weir joked that since he had won the prize twice in a row, "We need a lefthander on the trophy."

Weir would be the perfect choice. He has more than a few things in common with Hogan. There's size. (Hogan was also 5'9".) There's grit. Hogan's was well chronicled after he survived a car crash in 1949, but Weir has shown his mettle in competition as well: All six of his previous Tour victories had been come-from-behind affairs -- until Sunday, when he blew a seven-shot lead, then scrambled magnificently on the final hole to save par and beat Shigeki Maruyama by a shot. There are the tight, compact swings. Weir and his coach, Mike Wilson, use a transposed video of Hogan's swing, making him lefthanded, to check Weir's action.

There's more: Hogan was lefthanded, too. He changed to the right side as a kid, when he couldn't find lefthanded clubs. Hogan won his first major at age 34. Weir was 32 when he won the Masters last April. Hogan resided in a quiet section of Fort Worth, Texas, while Weir lives in the sleepy Salt Lake City suburb of Draper. And a devoted wife figures prominently in each man's career. Hogan, a loner, depended almost solely on Valerie. Weir worked with Wilson and with a sports psychologist, Rich Gordin, last week, but he was joined by his wife, Bricia, on Sunday. "She's very supportive," Weir says. "What I'm doing right now wouldn't be the same if I didn't have her to share it with."

There are differences, of course. Hogan won 64 times. Weir has won only seven times (though he does need just one more victory to tie George Knudson as the winningest Canadian). Hogan was known as Bantam Ben, the Hawk, the Wee Ice Mon or simply Mr. Hogan. Weir, who has always been just one of the guys from Bright's Grove, Ont., goes by Weirsy. Hogan, who was childless, was obsessed with a game whose secrets, he said, were in the dirt. Weir's outside interests include hockey -- he has practiced with NHL teams -- and skiing. (He had hit the slopes in Alta, Utah, the Monday before the Nissan.) A devoted father, Weir also bought a puppy for his daughters Elle, six, and Lili, almost four, a week ago. They named it Timp (for Mount Timpanogos, a peak near Provo, Utah). Hogan was a consummate shot maker but struggled with his putting, especially late in his career. Weir may not be as good a ball striker, but his exceptional short game rates right up there with Tiger Woods's and Ernie Els's.

If you look at style, not swing, Weir most resembles José María Olazábal, another short-game wizard, who has twice won the Masters. Weir will be one of the favorites next month in Augusta based on his performance at Riviera. He got up and down (or holed out) for par 20 of the 26 times he missed the green. "That was the story of my week -- my up-and-down game," Weir said. "It was probably fitting that I got up and down to win." Weir needed only 99 putts, the lowest total on Tour this season and only six off the Tour record shared by Mark Calcavecchia and Kenny Knox. Weir also led the tournament in putts per green hit in regulation (1.543), a category in which John Daly, who finished fourth, and Maruyama ranked second and third, respectively. Weir one-putted 54% of the greens, second only to Billy Andrade's 58%. "[Weir's] putting great," said Woods, who tied for seventh after a closing 64, "and his putts aren't lipping in and taking a victory lap. They're going right in the middle." Added Maruyama, "Just like at the Masters last year."

Weir's putting has made a dramatic turnaround from only a month ago. He was stroking the ball so poorly during the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic that at one point he decided to putt with his wedge for nine holes -- and made a 15-footer on his first try. He went back to his putter the next day and, thanks to a tip from Wilson to keep his lower body still, Weir has been on a roll ever since. He needed every one of those putts to withstand Maruyama's charge on Sunday.

Weir had set a tournament record with his 54-hole total of 17-under 196 (66-64-66). But while Weir was spinning his wheels on Sunday (he wound up with an even-par 71), Maruyama was making birdies en route to a 67. Maruyama finally pulled even by birdieing the 15th and 16th holes. "What can you do?" Weir said later. "You can't play defense in golf."

On the soggy 475-yard 18th, though, Maruyama drove into the right rough while Weir split the fairway. Maruyama couldn't reach with a fairway wood, but Weir pushed his four-iron onto the hillside left of the green. From there he hit the shot of the week, nearly holing his pitch for a kick-in par. Maruyama pitched long, and then he missed badly on a 10-footer that would've forced a playoff.

When their duel came down to the final hole, Bricia could barely stand it. "The 18th hole on Sunday at Augusta was hard to watch, but this was a close second," she said moments after running onto the green to hug her victorious husband. A minute later she stopped at the top of the steep stairway that leads from the final hole to the clubhouse, held out her left hand and said, "Look at me, I'm still shaking."

Before last week, her husband had been 0 for 5 when leading after 54 holes. Another loss, this time with a big lead, would've scarred his psyche and left others wondering. Instead, Weir moved up to fourth in the World Ranking and joined the short list of players, Els and Vijay Singh, who appear to be ready to knock Woods off golf's throne. Weir has looked as comfortable in contention at the majors -- in addition to winning the Masters, he tied for third at last year's U.S. Open and was seventh at the PGA -- as he did in the Riviera pressroom last Friday. Daly, who had also shot a 64, was taking questions from reporters when Weir walked in and playfully jumped on his lap.

"So," Daly asked, "what do you want for Christmas?"

Weir only smiled, but he probably thought that a second green jacket, to match Hogan's haul, would be nice.

Issue date: March 1, 2004