BELL CANADIAN OPEN

September 3, 2003

Mike Weir

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Mike, for joining us for a few minutes here in the press room at the Bell Canadian Open.

First of all, congratulations on being a member of the Presidents Cup team. That's wonderful. Why don't we just begin with you making a couple of comments. You've had a wonderful year this year, winning the Masters, three victories, and now you're home playing right here with your friends. Why don't you make a couple comments and then we'll go into questions.

MIKE WEIR: Obviously, it's been a great year so far. There's nothing that would mean more than to play well here this week than somehow pull out a victory. You know, more importantly, I just want to play well this week and have fun and enjoy the crowds, enjoy the kind of support that I see all week this week it's been a lot of fun so far and hopefully it will be this week as well.

I'm looking forward to playing a great golf course here. I think a lot of the players are here to be excited and play a really good golf course. I think there's of buzz about this place and the tournament this year among the players.

Q. Can you talk about the course, what makes this course a good place to play?

MIKE WEIR: Well, it's just not stand-up-and-bomb-it on every hole. You have to really shape the ball here. There's a lot of doglegs, so a lot of right-to-left, left-to-right. There's some serious rough out there. From Monday when I played to now, it's two days' worth of growth. So it's probably -- I don't know how much it's grown in two days, but significantly, enough that the ball is sitting down a little bit. The premium is on accuracy. The greens have severe pitch to them. So a lot of time you have to be close the hole, especially the two closing holes. It's a good golf course. Really, it taps your strategy.

Q. 7,000 yards -- inaudible -- how will that affect your strategy this weekend?

MIKE WEIR: You know, number-wise it's a little bit shorter, but on the other hand the ball is not rolling. It's fairly wet out there. There's rough and the fairways are narrow. You're not going to see a lot of guys standing up bombing drivers. It's going to play a comparable length to a 7,400-yard golf course. At the same time, as I said, you have to make your way around out there.

Q. Inaudible?

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, there's a fair assessment, absolutely. You know, that was a game plan of mine at the beginning of this year, at Augusta, to enjoy myself, enjoy my golf a little more and it seems like the results have kind of come from that, as well as the hard work I've done, as well.

Part of that goes along with it, not getting frustrated and just kind of seeing -- even today in the Pro-Am, I wasn't hitting it that well. You kind of go along and all of a sudden you make three birdies in a row. That's the way it goes sometimes.

Q. Coming in here, more expectations on you, how does that make you feel, does that add to the pressure?

MIKE WEIR: I think it does, definitely. I think it adds to the pressure. You know I can only control my own expectations. My expectations are really just to go out there, enjoy myself, play well and really not get ahead of myself. So, in every tournament there's a challenge about that.

This week there's a little bit greater of a challenge to really stay with that and not let the expectations get too high because everybody else's are. I just need to kind of go out there and play and we'll see what happens.

Q. Is there any different feeling today, can you feel the affection and love that people are feeling for you right now?

MIKE WEIR: I don't know if that's a word that I can use, but there's definitely a different vibe out there and a different feel. There's more energy out there. People are really pulling for me. It's really neat. It's really great.

So that's why I said, I'm really going to try to enjoy that this week and not look it as too much heat, per se. I'm just going to enjoy it.

Q. In the past you said that this tournament is one of the most important ones to you personally, you even put it up there ahead of the majors. Now that you've won a major tournament, where does this one fall, and is it still as important to you as it was before?

MIKE WEIR: Absolutely it's still important. I was talking earlier, actually to Mike Ritz at the Golf Channel about it, and I just said, you know, this is the first professional tournament I had ever seen live. I remember going to Glen Abbey with a bunch of junior golfers. We went down, a friend of mine's dad drove us down. We walked, we watched the tournament. We watched a clinic that Andy Bean and Tom Kite gave. So I have great memories of the Canadian Open as a spectator.

Now playing it, it will be that much more special to win it, from having those memories of even Monday qualifying when I was an amateur in college and getting in and playing for the first time to now, to the point I'm at now. So it would mean a great deal.

Q. Walking around today, you've sort of become an icon. You've captured the imagination of the Canadians and become like a Canadian icon, what do you think about that, and what is your relationship with the fans?

MIKE WEIR: Well, it's nice of you to say that, but I'm just trying to do my part out here. I'm trying to see how good I can be as a professional golfer, trying to be the best player in the world. And with that, there's a responsibility.

And you know, I look to -- I would say a lot of the Junior players, I think the young kids coming up have something to get their hopes up about that, a kid from Canada, from a small town in Canada, can win on the PGA TOUR and can win major championships. And that's a great feeling, just to have a chance to interact with some the younger guys coming up. We have a dinner tonight, a Canadian dinner, with all of the Canadian players getting together. That's a fun part of this week for me is to get to interact with these younger guys.

I don't know how I sit with that other part of your question. That's a tough one to answer from this side of it.

Q. Do you feel pressure?

MIKE WEIR: That's why I didn't understand what you were getting at.

Q. Do you feel any extra responsibility or do you enjoy it; you're very humble about it.

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, definitely. I just look at myself as just a normal person. I'm trying to excel at something, golf, and that happens to be it for me, where a person could be an excellent writer, an excellent reporter, an excellent golfer and I don't look at myself as any different.

Q. First at the PGA you said your back was sore and you were battling the driver. On the front nine today, it looked like you were not really happy with the way you were hitting. Is your back better and is the driver coming on-line?

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, it feels better. It does feel better. It's not 100% but I do feel better. I'm able to at least -- golf is about little geometry. You have to stay in your angles and these kind of things, and I wasn't able to do that these past couple weeks. I'm starting to get to that, not quite there yet. Just my lower back was fatigued earlier in the round than what I wanted. Normally I could hang in there really good for 18 holes. I haven't been able to do the workout I need to strengthen the area in the last couple weeks. In that regard, I am not as fit as I normally am but I feel better.

Q. You said there was a lot of buzz about coming to Lancaster (ph) and the Canadian Open, I know you don't like to speak on behalf of other players, but can you explain the rash, 21 guys drop out within a 31-hour period?

MIKE WEIR: I have no idea what's going through certain players' minds, why they would withdraw so late. It's speculation. Some guys are beat up after the PGA and kind of winding down their schedules. Other guys, I don't know. With that many guys, if it's a couple guys, if I knew who they were, I might have a better answer for you, but with that many guys, it could be a number of things.

Q. Just to follow up on that question, would that take away the fact that there are not as many big-name or world-class players, Top-10 like yourself here? If you did win this tournament, would that take away anything? Would it mean less? Would there be an asterisk beside it or what?

MIKE WEIR: No. This is a PGA TOUR event. There's no asterisk beside anything. If you beat a quality field out here, you earn it.

As we have seen in the last two major championships, that's how deep the PGA TOUR. Players that are 300 in the world can win out here. It's going to give some guys an extra opportunity to play this week where they might not otherwise have a chance to.

So it would not diminish it at all, not at all.

Q. You talked about how much it means to Canadians and Canadian players, but I'm wondering about the other guys that you run into on TOUR, does anyone regard this as a National Open, per se, or does it tend to be the next tournament on the schedule, particularly when it falls after the last major, is it tough to get people to recognize this as a distinctive tournament in any way?

MIKE WEIR: I think, well, getting back to that, by talking to the RCGA, I'll have a talk with them tonight about that, that's a good point. We need to make this tournament different than the average regular PGA TOUR tournament. I think a lot of the veteran players out here regard it as a National Championship and hold it in high regard. I think the young guys coming along need to feel that. Maybe everybody associated with the Tour and with the RCGA can do a better job of establishing that, and that's probably what needs to be focused on going forward. Yeah, maybe there is a little lost sense of that lately.

Q. Will you do anything to try to spread the word --

MIKE WEIR: When guys ask me about it, I try to give all the positive feedback I can, whether it's hotels or whatever the questions the guys ask me about the golf course. A lot of it has been about the golf course because we have been moving every year lately and they wanted to know about the golf course, so I told them how great it was.

Obviously surprised at some of the names that have pulled out, have pulled out, because certain guys I think it would really fit their game. But, you know, that's the way it goes.

Q. You mentioned a Monday qualifier; a kid out here, by the name of Scott Gogel (ph) qualified on Monday, what advice would you give to him after being in his shoes?

MIKE WEIR: For all of the young guys, it's a big week, whether they are coming off the Canadian Tour, Nationwide or Monday qualifying, it's a big week. Just to enjoy it. Try not to overpractice, I say that would be the biggest advice. I remember as was a kid Monday qualifying when I was at university, hitting Titleist golf balls on the range was a big thrill; so I would sit there and hit them all day. (Laughing) By the time the tournament started I was worn out. That's my biggest advice, just kind of take it easy and not do too much.

Q. Can you speak specifically to Presidents Cup, and even more specifically, to playing for Gary Player this year?

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, that was very high on my priority list at the beginning of the year. It was nice to kind of get off to a great start at the beginning of the year and pretty much make the team right out of the gate. That was a big goal of mine.

To play for Gary, Jack and Gary have been rivals for a long time, and I know each of them want to win badly. I know our team wants to win badly. We left with a bad taste in our mouth last time. We got beaten so soundly.

I'm really looking forward to it. It was one of the best golfing experiences I've ever had at the last Presidents Cup. I just had a great time getting to know all of the guys on our team, all of the guys on the U.S. team. It was very competitive, but at the same time, very friendly. The fans were great. Everything about it was just fantastic. It was fun being on a team again, rooting for the guy you're playing with. It was really fun. So I'm really looking forward to it.

Q. I've been wondering, can you speak to the pressure that gets put on the captain's picks? No. 1, it must be a difficult choice to make those picks; and No. 2, there must be pressure on the players who are eventually picked.

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, it's a tough decision. Who knows what goes into the minds of the captains, whether they are going to go 11 or 12, or see who is playing the best at the time leading in. It's just a tough call, and you feel bad for the guys right there on the bubble not making it. I know Bob Estes, I know he felt bad about it and played well.

It's up to the captain. Those guys are both great players and they have done something right to win as many tournaments as they have and know something about good play. So maybe they know something about what players gel. And maybe you pick a Jay Haas with his experience and he may gel with one of the younger players. So there's a lot of things that go into that.

Q. You mentioned expectations and pressure and you alluded to that. Could you speak more directly to what it would mean to you to end what has been a Canadian record for nearly 50 years?

MIKE WEIR: It would mean a great deal. Obviously it would be a dream of mine to win this tournament, and to do it this year, especially, I think with the kind of year I've had, would really just be an unbelievable year. So, yeah, it would just be really, really special.

Q. Could we hear a little bit of your sales pitch for Glen Abbey?

MIKE WEIR: (Laughter.) That's a good one.

Q. Now that the Open is gone from the Abbey, at least for this year and most of the next umpteen years --

MIKE WEIR: Well, I think I will have a much different attitude going into it next year. I think a lot of guys do like the golf course. The talk around the locker room, the players, a lot of guys didn't know it was going back there next year. I imagine some of the guys are like, yeah, we loved the golf course. I expect next year, especially being -- I think it's the week before the Ryder Cup; it should have a great field.

I think the point earlier brought up, of this tournament not being just another event, it needs to be billed as a National Championship. I think moving around is a great thing. I think we are going to get back there.

Q. At the risk of sounding like someone talking about no-hitters in the seventh inning, on the question of Player of the Year, do you think about it; do you have an idea of what you might need to win it; and thirdly, what would it mean as a Canadian to win it?

MIKE WEIR: Well, to tell you the truth, I haven't thought about it very much. When I'm asked about it, I'll respond in that there's been a lot of players that have had great years. There are a handful of players that have had really great years, and I think it's been a long time since there's been a debate about three or four guys having a legitimate shot to win it.

Second part of your question. Yeah, a Canadian -- it would be a great thing to win it. What I have to do, I don't know. I have to play well, I know that. Going forward, probably THE TOUR Championship -- and whatever happens, happens. I know I've had a great year no matter what. Even if I didn't win it, I would still be happy. The other guys played great, as well.

Q. You say that your back is still not 100%. There's a lot of walking on this course, there's a lot of hills, there's a lot of uneven lines and the rough is pretty thick. Come Sunday, how do you think your back is going to hold up, and is there any extra wear and tear that you're anticipating because of this course, and how are you going to prevent that from happening?

MIKE WEIR: Well, there's nothing to do to prevent that. But I've seen that when I get sitting here, that's what I start getting a little bit tight. When I'm walking out there, it's actually pretty good. That's a good thing. The other way around, it would probably be worse. I would expect that I'll be fine.

Q. Does that present any more of a challenge?

MIKE WEIR: Not really. I felt good at the end of today. I didn't feel fatigued at all.

Q. You first teed up in a Canadian Open in 1989. Probably no more than your family was watching it. Now Canada is like your family right now. Everyone is following. Is it more nerve-wracking now than it was the first time?

MIKE WEIR: No, it's not. I think back then, I didn't know how to handle my emotions and handle my game. Back then, being the Canadian Open and hitting balls beside Jack Nicklaus was playing back then, Nick Price and Tom Watson, being on the range as a kid back then was way more nerve-wracking that than it is now.

Q. Whenever you come here for a tournament like this, do you feel like you get a sense of what it is like to step in Tiger's shoes, and how comfortable are you with that?

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, he has to -- even here, it's probably not -- he doesn't get this every week. He gets a lot of it.

It's fine. It's great. It means I'm playing better and moving up in the World Rankings and things. So, yeah, no problem.

Q. We're getting nothing but rave reviews about this golf course. A lot of the what you are hearing in the looker room, are the players as hot about this as we think?

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, they are. They are really excited about it. Everybody who has played their practice rounds today in the Pro-Am coming in is really raving about the golf course. Everybody really likes it. Par 3s are a big topic of conversation, how solid the par 3s are; hitting 3-, 4-irons and 5-woods and 4-woods into a couple of them.

When I played here a couple of months ago, it was playing firm and fast and I thought it may be playing a little bit short, but I think with the rain and a little bit of rough, it's playing not long, but long enough to present a good challenge.

Q. I know you're not thinking of Player of the Year to yourself, but as players are starting to think about it, the voting aspect of it, what do you think stands forward in your mind -- you'll have a vote yourself: Is it majors, is it money, is it overall wins?

MIKE WEIR: I don't think it's money. I think it's just definitely performances. I think there's more stock in the majors, for sure. I think it's high finishes in big tournaments. I think that's the kind of thing guys look at, I think, yeah.

Q. Just following up on the Abbey thing, when you came in there a few years ago, you had just won the Vancouver Open and a lot of expectations to be the Canadian to win. Now that you've won the Masters, you come in now more experienced, is there more confidence that goes with it or do you still feel the same kind of pressure to be the Canadian to win?

MIKE WEIR: There's more confidence, for sure. I mean, you know, I'm four years removed from that and four years more experienced and I think a better game than what I had in '99. I feel a little more confident than that, probably.

Q. This week, for a few years, it's obviously been a busy week for you, but given the start to your year and the Masters win, I'm thinking here a bit more personally, did you have a few months to kind of absorb that and deal with, I'm sure, the pressure from endorsements, the business side and all of that? I just wonder how your -- has there been sort of more adjusting to do on the personal side in the last few months now that you've sort of hit this new level?

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, there's been a few adjustments.

Q. Like family --

MIKE WEIR: Yeah it's always a little bit of a juggling act, a balancing act. Killed me yesterday, my daughter started school yesterday, so I had to miss that. So that's not very fun. It's just a balancing act. Most of us here are husbands or fathers and mothers, so it's hard to miss out on things. That's the hard part of the balancing act of being out here all the time.

As far as after a win like the Masters, there are some more commitments, a few more commitments on my time. There's a lot more things that I'm offered that I could do, but most of the time -- there's some things I consider, but most things I don't because the balance of my family times are important.

Q. With the Masters -- after an actor wins an Oscar, so the question is: Where do you keep your Oscar. So let me ask: Where do you keep your green jacket?

MIKE WEIR: It's in my office in my house. Actually, I had a custom-cabinet built in there when I was building my office in my basement. I built like a little hanger rack in there just in case I win a green jacket. Once I got it, it went right on the rack. So that's where it is.

I had it in -- forgot it at my parent's house, too. I don't know how I forgot it. So it was at their house for a couple of weeks.

Q. I know you already answered a Player of the Year question, but in your case, it might go along with the Lou Marsh Trophy, has that crossed your mind and is there any impression to go out and try to do that and be recognized in our country as our best athlete, especially when Eric Gagne is setting records in Major League Baseball? Do you look at the big picture and say, "It would be really nice to have that:

MIKE WEIR: I don't. But if I do, it would be very nice. I don't go out there thinking I want to win this because I wants to get this award or anything. It's not ever been about that for me.

So to answer your question, no. It would be nice if those things come along with it, I guess, but I don't really think about it.

Q. Just to follow that up, when you won the Masters, there was a lot of pressure that at that time it was pretty much a slam dunk win; you could already put your name on the Lou Marsh Trophy. How would that make you feel, being recognized as the best athlete on our country when there's so many other people competing in different sports?

MIKE WEIR: I don't know. I don't know if I'm the best athlete in the country. There's a lot of great athletes here. It's nice to be recognized to be the best in Canada, but, you know, I don't know. I consider myself a good athlete. That's debateable. It's always been debated whether golf is a sport or not. I think it is and you have to train like a professional athlete to be at the top left of golf as well. There's a lot of great athletes: Eric Gagne, Steve Nash had a great year for the Mavs. There's a lot of guys, and ladies.

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Mike, for joining us, and play well this week.

End of FastScripts.