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BELL CANADIAN OPEN

September 9, 2004

Mike Weir

OAKVILLE, ONTARIO

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thank you, Mike, for joining us for a few minutes here in the media center at the Bell Canadian Open. Congratulations. I know it's got to be a real thrill to be leading this tournament through 36 holes. I know your goal is to win this thing, but it's a good start and you ought to be happy about this.

MIKE WEIR: Absolutely. It is only halfway through, but I'm still excited about it. I haven't been in this position in the tournament before. I haven't played this golf course very well the last times that I've been here.

Today when I struggled I seemed to get a few breaks and seemed to make some nice saves when I was in the greenside bunker or just off the green, or if I missed the fairway, I played to the smart side and seemed to get it up-and-down.

For the most part my mid-iron game was key. I was hitting a lot of mid irons pretty close. I hit my 5-iron five or six feet five or six times within the course of the holes that I played today. I haven't had that in a while, so that was nice.

Q. Mike, you've talked in the past about how this course has never fit your eye. I'm wondering if that is still the case, or is the fact that your game is so different than it was four or five years ago, if that's no longer the case.

MIKE WEIR: Yeah, I think that's part of it. I think before with my -- the trajectory on my ball, especially my irons, I had really a tough time keeping the ball on the green, coming in with 3-, 4-irons coming into those holes. Now I'm probably ail little bit longer, technology is a little bit better, now I'm coming in with 6- and 7-irons, 5-irons, plus I hit the ball a little higher and I'm able to stop the ball on the greens. Plus I think my overall game is better than it was four or five years ago or 15 years ago when I first played here, so I think it's a combination of the two.

Q. You've gotten tremendous support and applause the whole way around, but what was the feeling like on 5, which any other tournament it sounded like you would have made it? And as a follow-up to that, given that this is a -- you don't get this every week, is there part of you that has to kind of tone down inside so you don't get too swept up in it, or is it something that carries you along?

MIKE WEIR: First question, No. 5, I couldn't tell how close it was. I thought -- I was right in between a 5-wood and a 3-iron. I had 230 yards and I decided to chase a 3-iron up the gut of the green and hit a perfect shot. It had a little draw, hopped a little bit to the right with the draw, and it hopped right up there, but I couldn't see it because it rolled over the hill. But to go up there and see it three feet was pretty cool.

I could tell it was a good shot but it wasn't quite the "made-it" roar.

The second part of your question, I do have to watch myself because it's easy to get excited. I mean, the crowd is fantastic and really pulling for me, so I have to really just each and every shot just kind of calm myself down and really get ready to execute the next shot.

Q. You said how your game club-wise has changed, the trajectory and such. Would you say there's been a similar change mentally with what you've come into having dealt with the Masters and a whole bunch of other big tournaments? Is that almost a big a change as the pressures that come with playing a Canadian Open?

MIKE WEIR: I think so. From the last time I was here, I've won six times since the last time we were here, some pretty big tournaments, so I think the experience is a big factor. When I feel the pressure and the crowd and everything, I'm able to handle that a lot more, a lot better than four or five years ago.

Now I really enjoy it. I think today I could really sense it. On the last hole, No. 9, I could sense that after hitting a good drive there, I could just feel that I was going to hit a good 5-iron in there. It was the perfect number, and the amphitheater there surrounding the 9th hole, I wanted to give them something to cheer about. I thought I could hit a good shot in there.

Q. Congratulations on the round today and good luck on the weekend. Two questions for you. Anything you want to focus on over the next two days, specifically with your game, and secondly, possibility of playing with Vijay tomorrow, maybe even Sunday, your thoughts on that?

MIKE WEIR: I think the key for me on this golf course is if I can keep driving it in the fairway. I've been driving it pretty well, not quite as sharp as what I feel I can do. If I can sharpen it up just another notch, I'll be happy with that. Playing with Vijay, you know, he's playing the best of anybody right now. He's No. 1 in the world for a reason, and it would be great to play with him. I enjoy playing with guys like that, and like I said earlier, I was telling the guys earlier, I'm going to enjoy the next few days. No matter what happens, I'm going to try my hardest, and hopefully I can find the magic that I found today for the next two days.

Q. At three of the four majors this year you could probably make a case that you caught the wrong side of the draw. Can you talk a little bit about catching the right side of the draw this time?

MIKE WEIR: I did definitely catch the right side of the draw today. We see guys are still going off right now, plus they had real tough conditions. I only had to play six holes in the wind yesterday, and by that time it wasn't as strong as what they had in the morning yesterday, so that's nice.

I think as you play a long career here, the breaks kind of even out as far as tee times go. Yeah, sometimes it just doesn't go your way. This week, yeah, I got a good break.

Q. Earlier this year we were talking about Glen Abbey, and I remember you saying, "enough of the old stuff." You knew they were going to come back here and you were just going to get your head around the idea that you were going to play here. At what point were you saying, "I can win anywhere"? At what point did you just put this place out of your mind?

MIKE WEIR: I think it probably was -- you know, I think probably last week when I started thinking about the tournament. I had my coach in, Mike, for a couple days, and you saw last week when we were working on my game and I was working on hitting a hard draw. This is a Jack Nicklaus course, he likes a left-to-right shot, and for me I figured I needed to hit a nice draw, and that's what I worked on last week. I was trying to get up my game plan last week for the golf course, trying to get my mind to a comfort level, trying to figure some things out even before I got here.

I played a nice practice round on Monday, got a little bit more comfortable, Wednesday Pro-Am, good starting yesterday, given the conditions, but I had a good game plan for the course.

Q. Just wondering, you're obviously excited and charged up and jazzed up. Do you have to sort of gear down a little bit and control the emotions to not get out of yourself?

MIKE WEIR: Yeah. As I was saying earlier, each and every shot is a challenge not to get too revved up. I don't know if you're talking about maybe tonight, I'm going to go sit in the hot tub a little bit and relax and get a nice dinner and probably go to bed pretty early because I'm tired today and my back was bothering me a little bit. I'm feeling okay, but I need to get my feet up and get some rest. I don't think I'll have a problem doing that after a long day today.

Q. Do you have a hot tub in your room?

MIKE WEIR: The friends I'm staying with, they have one in the backyard.

Q. Do they have any extra rooms (laughter)?

What were you so upset about with the bunker shot on 8 from the fairway, A; and B, was that up-and-down, which was pretty nifty, emblematic of some of the things that kept your round going?

MIKE WEIR: I was upset because that was not the place to miss it, long left, and I said to Brendan, "you were right." He wanted me to hit a 9-iron, and the wind was helping a little bit. I thought I could squeeze a little 8-iron off that. As soon as I hit it, I could tell it was riding the wind and going too far. I was mad because Brendan wanted me to hit 9, and I thought, "No, I don't think I can get it there." That was a great save. I think that was really the only spot today that I missed on the short side. It seemed like even when I missed it -- even No. 1 when I missed it to the right there, I had the green to work with. That's what you need to do around this course. If you're going to miss it, miss it on the correct side so you have some room to pitch the ball up.

Q. How about No. 10?

MIKE WEIR: I got a nice break there, pulled a tee shot the very first hole, hit a tree, hit a 6-iron up and over the trees to ten feet and made it. I had some breaks out there today. I'm going to need a few of those the next couple of days.

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Can we go through your round, the second round?

MIKE WEIR: Birdie on 10, that's where I started.

11, I hit a great shot in there, hit it about four feet the very next hole and missed a short putt. That was really the only short putt I missed today.

Then 12, I hit a 5-iron to ten feet maybe, made that.

16, I hit a drive and an 8-iron to about 12 feet, made that one.

Made a nice up-and-down on 1, ten-foot putt for my par.

Then 5, hit a nice drive and that 3-iron that rolled up three feet for eagle.

And then 9, I had 196 yards. I hit a 5-iron again to about three feet. It's not like I'm making a bunch of bombs. I'm hitting it close a lot. I made a couple of 10-, 12-footers. I haven't made much outside that, but I seem to be rolling the ball pretty good. I'm all over the hole on my longer putts, so if I can just get a few to fall in tomorrow.

Q. Have you ever played with Monty over at the Open or Faldo or someone like that?

MIKE WEIR: I played with Monty Saturday this year at the Open. That's his home area. He grew up at Troon, so crowds were pulling for him there.

Q. (Inaudible).

MIKE WEIR: I'd say it's pretty similar. He had big crowds there, obviously him growing up right there at Troon. I got paired with him Saturday, and we shot the same score so I got paired with him again Sunday. There was a lot of pressure and he didn't play very well on Sunday.

It's tough to do because you want to do it. You want to play so well for everybody. Hopefully I can just block that out tomorrow and just go about my business like I did today.

Q. (Inaudible).

MIKE WEIR: Well, I think part of that was I was playing well, so the roars were a little bit louder, but yeah, I think especially the last few years, I think the support I've gotten here has been incredible, even when I'm struggling. It's nice to give them something to cheer about.

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thank you, Mike, for joining us.

End of FastScripts.

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