Heading into his 25th career Masters, Mike Weir sticks to his winning formula at Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Mike Weir is talking, with a smile, about how frustrated Gary Player got when he missed a 10-footer during their Sunday practice round at Augusta National.

“That’s the great thing about our game,” Weir told Sportsnet about his 18-hole loop at the most iconic golf course in America with the soon to be 89-year-old Player.

“I was just mesmerized. I’m 30 years younger than that and to think you can play good golf and see a guy get motivated to try to get better at 88 … that’s inspiring stuff for guys that get older — because the golf ball doesn’t know how old you are.”

Weir, the 2003 Masters winner, will play his 25th career Masters this year — far and away the most by any Canadian in history. His approach, however, has remained the same.

“Nothing’s changed,” Weir said. “I know my formula and what I have to do, so I’m putting in the work in those areas.”

He allows himself an acknowledgement, though. It’s wild to think he’s played in a quarter-century worth of Masters.

The Masters is a place where time stands still, until you look backwards.

“When I’m in the physio trailer, I feel like I’ve been here for a long time,” Weir said with a laugh, “but other times I feel pretty good.

“The years have flown by but every year I come here, it’s special.”

This year marks a particularly special one for Weir as he’ll lead the International Team at the Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal in September. Weir said he’ll have to compartmentalize his efforts as captain when it comes to a week like the Masters. He spent most of Monday connecting to plenty of the International potentials while also working on his game.

And there was certainly some Presidents Cup talk during Tuesday’s all-Canadian practice round.

In what’s become a bit of a tradition, Weir took the other Canadians in the field out for a Tuesday spin at Augusta National. Corey Conners, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin are the other Canucks in the 2024 field. Taylor and Hadwin haven’t been at the Masters since 2020 (which was contested in November due to the COVID-19 pandemic on a “completely different” golf course) so they were eager to pick Weir’s brain on the intricacies of Augusta National.

Weir said it would be Team Ontario vs. Team B.C. for their nine-hole match, and he and Conners topped Hadwin and Taylor.

For the Canadians to follow in his footsteps and win the Masters — or any major — they’ll have to be able to do the things he can’t really teach. Weir has talked to Michael Phelps about how he visualized the moments when his goggles got fogged up or filled with water and how to not freak out. He has talked to Michael Jordan about handling clutch moments, too. It’s those unmeasurable skills that help to make great champions.

“There’s something about the ‘will to win’ that’s inside that’s not about golf swing. It’s not about technique,” Weir said. “There’s the intangible to win big tournaments and big championships and get to big moments. You have to put yourself in those situations and sometimes you succeed and sometimes you fail, and you learn about what works and what doesn’t. People figure it out early. People figure it out later. Those are things that aren’t measurable. They have to find those things themselves. But I’m always willing to share.”

When Weir made his Masters debut in 2000, he had his own mentors to chat with including Jack Nicklaus and Fred Couples, who took Weir for a practice round. Weir said he always felt he was able to play Augusta National well, even at the beginning of his career. He finished T28 that first year and then went T27-T24-1. He missed the cut in his title defence in 2004 but then rattled off four straight top-20 results.

“Going (to Augusta National) for the first time was surreal. For some reason, from the get-go, I just felt comfortable on the golf course. It brings out your creative side and you have to think a bit differently to play well,” Weir said. “I think I got off on the right foot the very first year.”

Weir made the cut in 2000 and shot a 2-under 70 on Saturday, tied for the second-lowest round of the windswept day. This, just days after his second daughter, Lily, was born. On the Monday of Masters week, in fact. Weir arrived at Augusta National the next day.

“It was a good week. It was a good first Masters and it set the tone, making me think I could play this place,” Weir said.

Now, whenever Weir returns to Augusta National it’s not just to a golf course he enjoys — it’s to a place where he is an iconic champion. He got to attend the Tuesday night dinner and was particularly excited about Jon Rahm’s Spanish menu — “I’m a bit of a foodie” — and is part of the most exclusive fraternity in the game.

Weir doesn’t share a locker in the Champions’ locker room. But how appropriate would it be if, on Weir’s 25th anniversary as a Masters participant, it gets filled with one of his countrymen?

“They’ve got all the tools. You’ve just got to have one of those magical weeks,” Weir said. “It’d be great to see. I’d love to have someone else on Tuesday night up there with me.”

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