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Mike Weir emerged from the golf wilderness on Sunday, winning on the PGA Tour Champions for his first tournament victory in 14 years. The Canadian left-hander captured the title at the Insperity Invitational in Texas, outdueling another popular player with a compelling comeback story of his own, John Daly, who has returned to the senior circuit after surgery for bladder cancer in fall 2020.
“It means a lot, it means a ton,” Weir said after his two-shot win.
Weir, 50, was a force in the century’s first decade on the PGA Tour, piling up seven of his eight career victories, including a green jacket at the 2003 Masters. He spent more than 110 weeks in the top 10 of the world golf ranking between 2001 and 2005.
But a ligament tear in his right elbow in 2010 initiated a long, slow slide to the bottom. Battling lingering injury woes and a swing gone awry, he went more than three seasons in one stretch without making a cut in an official PGA Tour event.
He never lost hope though, even retreating to the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour in his late 40s to resurrect his game ahead of joining the PGA Tour Champions for players aged 50 and older. He’s been nothing but competitive since his arrival, with six top-10 finishes in 14 starts. His victory then at the Insperity, which was cut to 36 holes after the opening round Friday was washed out, seemed almost inevitable, albeit still a shock for a player who was down for so long.
Weir’s tap-in eagle on the par-5 13th hole after a laser approach made a statement as he and Daly battled on the back nine at The Woodlands Country Club. But the outcome was sealed on the 18th when Daly hit his second shot in the water and settled for double bogey. Weir, in the group behind Daly, needed just par to win.
“I hit the shots I needed to win down the stretch,” said Weir, whose 10-under-par 134 left him two shots better than runners-up Daly, David Toms and Tim Petrovic.
When the U.S. Open was played at Torrey Pines South in 2008 – you may remember Tiger Woods holed a putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff he ultimately won against Rocco Mediate – it was the longest course in the championship’s history.
When the U.S. Open returns to the oceanside course in mid-June, don’t expect it to play as long.
John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s senior managing director of championships, said he does not expect to stretch the course to its full length during the event. It measured more than 7,600 yards when Woods won but Bodenhamer sees Torrey Pines playing closer to 7,300 yards in June.
“We are going to let Torrey be Torrey,” Bodenhamer said.
A handful of new tees (at Nos. 10, 14 and 17) have been built since the ’08 U.S. Open, allowing more set-up options. The key component, Bodenhamer said, will be the weather conditions.
Typically, the San Diego area is dry in June with a marine layer that often hangs over the region.
“We just want to make sure that we challenge the guys to hit every shot in our bag, showcase their talents in every way – recovery, mental, physical,” Bodenhamer said.
“Whatever we can do with Torrey to bring that up, we’ll do that and we’ll just let it be.”
Bodenhamer said the USGA will not make changes based on 2020 champion Bryson DeChambeau’s aggressive play off the tee in his victory at Winged Foot.
“Are we going to do something different because of distance? We’re not,” he said.
Rickie Fowler and John Catlin have been handed early invites to the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island “based on their performances, playing records and OWGR position,” a PGA of America spokesperson told NBC Sports’ Will Gray.
Catlin has reached 82nd on the Official World Golf Ranking after winning the Austrian Golf Open, the American’s third European Tour win in 13 starts. It will be his first appearance in a major championship.
Fowler has fallen to 111th on the OWGR from a high of fourth in 2016. He began the year 52nd and had been eligible for the second men’s major of the year as a member of the 2018 Ryder Cup team provided he was in the world’s top 100 by 10 May.
The 32-year-old finished tied third in the 2014 PGA Championship, and in a share of fifth place in 2017. He also has nine other top-10s in majors, including runner-up finishes in the U.S. Open and Open Championship in 2014, and a second in the 2018 Masters.
Paula Creamer has entered the field at the Pure Silk Championship, which will be played May 2023 in Williamsburg, Virginia.
With 10 career victories on her résumé, Creamer is 10th on the LPGA’s career money list with just more than $12 million in earnings. In 2010, she won the U.S. Women’s Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, finishing four strokes ahead of Na Yeon Choi and Suzann Pettersen.
Creamer, 34, last played an event on the LPGA Tour in October 2019. She tied for 63rd place at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea. Her last LPGA victory came in 2014 at the HSBC Women’s Champions.
Rachel Heck of the United States reached her highest position on the World Amateur Golf Ranking with a jump of 10 places to ninth, courtesy of winning the Pac-12 Women’s Championship. It was her second win in a row after the Fresno State Classic, and her third of the 2021 season.
Argentina’s Segundo Pinto is now the 102nd-ranked men’s amateur, a personal best for the University of Arkansas student, following a 74-place climb as a result of his SEC Championship win.
France’s Gala Dumez also attained her highest status after her historic win in the Big 12 Women's Championship at the Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas.
Her maiden victory in her first year in college golf saw her become the first player in Texas Tech history to win the Big 12. It brought a 138-place jump on the WAGR table to 266th.
Staff and Wire Reports