Nissan Open
19 Feb 2004 - 22 Feb 2004Pacific Palisades, California
Beyond staying dry, that is.
The Canadian left-hander, riding the hottest putter in the tournament, leads by five shots over Shigeki Maruyama with rain, and possibly lots of it, threatening to disrupt the scheduled final round of the $4.8 million (U.S.) tournament.
"I can't take a win out here for granted,'' said Weir, who has won six PGA Tour tournaments coming from behind, but none in five tries when holding the 54-hole lead. "I've been in the lead a few times and not done as well as I'd like. I'm looking at it as a big challenge, that I want to prove something to myself, that I can handle leading by five shots and play solid golf and make whoever is challenging me really have to do something phenomenal to catch me.''
Weir has done something close to that so far, producing another five-under-par 66 at Riviera Country Club on a day of intermittent, occasionally heavy, rains. Counting last year's final round, in which he came from seven strokes behind to defeat Charles Howell III in a playoff, Weir's past four Riviera rounds have been 66, 66, 64 and 66. His 54-hole total of 17-under-par 196 is a record, eclipsing by a shot the 197 counted by eventual champion Fred Couples in 1990. The 72-hole scoring record is 20-under-par 264 by Lanny Wadkins in 1985.
The Brights Grove, Ont., left-hander blew away the rest of the leaderboard with his 66, achieved with a fiery putter that produced 12 one-putt greens and led to six birdies, a handful of good par saves and a lone bogey, after a poor chip at the second hole. For the Nissan so far, Weir leads in putting, having required only 72 in three days, a remarkable total over poa annua greens that can be bumpy.
"I haven't played with him (Weir) a lot, but all the times I have played with him it's been fun,'' said Jeff Maggert, who stands third at 11-under 202. "Obviously he has a nice lead 9for today), but there are still four or five guys within striking distance. If we can make some early birdies and make a run at him, it will be a little bit different back nine.''
