Mike Weir opened the Masters with a 9-over-par 81 on Thursday, a round that left the 2003 champion tied for 86th as he headed into Friday’s second round at Augusta National Golf Club.
Weir, 55, had one birdie on the par-5 13th hole but made a double-bogey 6 on the par-4 third, a double on the par-4 17th and closed with a bogey on the par-4 18th. It was his 27th appearance in the Masters, but the start left him facing a tough climb in the 90th tournament.
Weir’s lone major title came in 2003, when he won the Masters and became the first left-handed major champion since Bob Charles. He is now playing on the PGA Tour’s Champions Tour, and the opening round at Augusta showed how far removed he is from that run through the ropes 22 years ago.
Read Also: Tony Finau misses Masters as Mike Weir opens 90th tournament at Augusta
The field around him offered a sharper contrast. Rory McIlroy opened with a 5-under 67 and shared the first-round lead with Sam Burns, while Weir was scheduled to tee off at 6:02 a.m. MDT Friday with Wyndham Clark, who shot 72, and Mateo Pulcini, who matched Weir’s 81. Tony Finau, a fixture at the Masters for the past eight years, did not qualify this time, leaving Weir as the only golfer with strong Utah ties in the field of 91.
Read Also: Nick Taylor leans on Mike Weir, Jordan Spieth in Masters return at Augusta
That mismatch is the story of the week. Weir’s score put him in position to miss the cut when the second round ends Friday, a hard turn for a player whose name still belongs in Masters history but whose current form no longer does.
