Day Three at the Bell Canadian Open

Saturday may not have been my best round, but at the end of the day, I'm very happy with my position. That's sometimes the way it is in golf and believe me, in the Bell Canadian Open, I'll take it.

I actually felt as if I hit it pretty well in the third round, probably better than the first two rounds. I kept the ball in a lot of fairways and reached a fair number of greens. I will admit that my putter wasn't as hot as it was the first two days and that's why I didn't score as well.

A lot of times when you're putting from the light into the shadow, it can be tough to get a good read on the putts and because I teed off at 1:45 p.m., I had a lot of those kinds of putts. I seemed to leave a few just short.

But I'd much rather have a day like today where it's a steady round and I'm making a lot of pars with two putts, than one where I'm scrambling and putting a lot of pressure on my putter. Call it a stress-free round.

I made just two birdies - one on a chip in and the other on the final hole. That last one was especially pleasing since I decided to lay up with my second shot. I was actually between yardages there. I had 225 to the pin and I wasn't sure if three-iron was enough. I knew if I hit five-wood, I'd be back behind the green and I didn't want to end up there. I hit a wedge to about four feet and sank the putt. It was a nice way to end the day.

It was remarkable to see the crowds out at Glen Abbey on Saturday. The ovations I was getting just about every step of the way really buoyed me. It was something else! All week it's been like that and I can't thank every fan out there enough for their support.

On Saturday night, my wife and my two daughters are coming in so that will be a good way for me to relax in the hours leading up to the start of the final round. I can't wait to see my girls and have some fun (Of course I'm also going to try and watch some of the World Cup hockey game!). I also won't have any trouble sleeping with the family around.

Then I'll have to get focused on the final round. I know I have a chance to win this tournament and to end the 50-year drought for Canadians in this championship. Believe me, no one would like to do that more than me.
But I can't get caught up in that right now. I have to focus on my game plan and keep playing the way I have. If I start thinking about what could happen, it probably won't happen.

There are still a lot of guys who can win this tournament and I expect Glen Abbey will be extremely tough again for the final 18.

I know when I stand up on the first tee on Sunday that I'll have some nerves. I think you'd have to check me for a pulse if there weren't any nerves. To me, this is just about as close as you can come to a major without it actually being a major. But I've had experience in those, I've been down the stretch and I can draw on that.

I just want to go out, play a relaxed round and try to enjoy myself. If I can do that, you just never know what might happen.

As always, thanks for your support.

Mike Weir