Mike Weir was born on this day in 1970. He spent over 110 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 2001 and 2005. He is best known for winning the Masters in 2003.
He turned professional in 1992, and started on the Canadian Professional Golf Tour, where he won three events. He also played some events on the Asian PGA Tour early in his career. He first reached the PGA Tour in 1998, but lost his playing privileges, due to insufficient performance. He had to requalify, and did so by being medalist at the final Qualifying School tournament.
Weir’s first PGA Tour win came at the 1999 Air Canada Championship in Surrey, British Columbia. The victory made him the first Canadian to win a PGA Tour event in Canada in 45 years.
In April 2003, Weir won the Masters. He is the first Canadian male ever to win a professional major championship. When he won The Masters, Weir became only the second left-handed golfer to win any of the four majors, the other being Bob Charles, who won the British Open forty years earlier. Weir is a right-hander who plays golf left-handed, a trait he shares with fellow PGA Tour pro and major champion Phil Mickelson.
In February 2004, Weir joined the ranks of a select few players including Ben Hogan to win consecutive championships at the Nissan Open, becoming the sixth player in Nissan Open history to notch back-to-back wins, and the first since Corey Pavin (1994, 1995). He was the 20th player to post multiple wins at the Nissan Open.
