Wachovia Championship

08 May 2003 - 11 May 2003
Charlotte, North Carolina

After all that's happened to Mike Weir the last month, it was entirely predictable that the fine edge would be missing from his game upon his return to the PGA Tour. You don't go through a life-altering experience like winning the Masters and not require a few adjustments before picking up the threads of your life again.

Even knowing that, Weir wasn't ready to accept the mental and emotional letdown as unavoidable yesterday after his mediocre round of 73 left him tied for 33rd, 10 shots off the pace set by leader David Toms heading into the final round of the Wachovia Championship. "I've got to work myself back into it," he said, frustration clear in his voice. "To me, it's no different than any time that I take three weeks off. There's going to be rust."

Thursday and Friday in the opening two rounds, Weir struck the ball beautifully from tee to green but struggled mightily with the putter.Yesterday, the ball-striking abandoned him and the putter was no better. "I was a little sloppy out there," he said, with a touch of resignation. "The round never had any momentum."

As close as he had looked to putting together a hot round on Friday, yesterday's tour of Quail Hollow Club was never very promising. Weir's putter was still betraying him and now that detail was magnified by the imprecision of his play from tee to green.

On a day when many players still in the hunt were taking advantage of good scoring conditions, Weir was struggling just to make par. Typical of the way things went for him was the par-four fourth hole. He drove the ball into a fairway bunker and, since it was too close to the lip, he had to wedge it out into the fairway. He knocked his approach shot tight to the pin, appearing to have salvaged a par, then missed the four-foot par-saver, settling for bogey.

It went like that and, even though he birdied three of he four par-fives, he ended up even par for the day, still two-under for the tournament and looking like a longshot to contend today. Even though this weekend has been, to this point, an exercise in treading water for Weir, it has illustrated his new celebrity. Weir has always been held in high competitive regard by his peers, who have recognized his talent the last three or four years. Now, however, after winning a green jacket, Weir's name is universally known among the galleries at this tournament, even though it's the first time the Tour has been in Charlotte in nearly a quarter-century.