Weir shaves beard and shoots a record low round
NORTON, Mass. (AP) -Mike Weir was concerned about the way he was starting tournaments. What got his attention in the first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship was how he finished.
After six birdies in seven holes - that qualifies as a great start - and three more birdies along the back nine of the TPC Boston, the Canadian was at 9-under par and faced a 60-foot eagle putt on the final hole when he mentioned to longtime caddie Brennan Little that his low score on the PGA Tour was 10 under.
``I wasn't thinking the number 62,'' Weir said. ``I was just thinking 10 under. If I shoot 11 under, that would be my lowest ever. Instead of concentrating on trying to lag it down there, I wanted to concentrate on making that thing. And I almost did.''
The putt broke gently toward the left edge of the cup before straightening and sliding 5 feet by. Weir made that for a 10-under 61, tying the course record at TPC Boston and giving him the lowest score of his PGA Tour career, one better than the 62 he had at Doral seven years ago.
And while this won't make a record book, it was no less meaningful - his great round Friday in optimal scoring conditions gave Weir a three-shot lead over Vijay Singh, John Merrick, Briny Baird and Heath Slocum.
Singh, coming off a playoff victory in The Barclays last week to open the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup, also had a 61 at the Deutsche Bank Championship two years ago in the third round.
The big Fijian helped set the tone for a day of low scoring with seven birdies - the longest about 6 feet - for a 64 that made him look capable of running away with the FedEx Cup and $10 million prize, much like Tiger Woods last year.
But there were so many more low scores to follow.
The rough is minimal, fairways generous at the TPC Boston. The greens were relatively soft, especially with so much cloud cover late in the afternoon. And if there was any wind, it was a rumor.
That explains why 63 players in the 115-man field shot in the 60s, and why only 23 players failed to break par.
As for Weir's 61?
Some could point to his past experience at the Deutsche Bank Championship, considering he had a share of the lead after 36 holes last year. Or maybe it was shaving the ``playoff beard'' he had last week in New Jersey, which he did because his wife and daughters came to town this week.
There is no good explanation, simply sheer enjoyment.
``There was no indication on the putting green when I was warming up that was going to tell me it was going to be like that,'' Weir said. ``It just felt normal. Just one of those days where I made about a 15-footer on the first hole, another on the second hole. ... I just kind of built on that momentum.
``I just tried to keep the pedal down, because I knew the scores were pretty low.''
Ben Curtis and Eric Axley were at 65, while Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and Anthony Kim were in the large group at 66.
In his 20 previous stroke-play events this year, Weir had shot in the 60s only one time, at the Canadian Open. It helped facing such tame conditions, but he did his part.
Only three of his birdie putts were inside 10 feet, none of those on the front nine when he went out in 30. He had five par saves on the back, along with his longest putt, a 25-footer on the 15th.
``Obviously, this was way exceeding my expectations,'' Weir said.
The playoff atmosphere was not as great as last year, perhaps because Tiger Woods isn't around to make his playoff debut, and there wasn't the star power centered on one group as there was last year when Woods, Singh and Phil Mickelson played the first two rounds.
Mickelson, the defending champion, suffered through a familiar malaise. He hit the ball fine, but 31 putts kept him in the middle of the pack at a 69.
The worst score belonged to British Open and PGA champion Padraig Harrington, who was in decent shape in the fairway on the par-5 18th until trying to play out of a water hazard, hitting another shot off a rock and into the water and missing a 6-foot putt on his way to a triple-bogey 8.
That gave him a 4-over 75, and a candidate to miss the cut for the second straight week in the playoffs.
Harrington has become the lightning rod of criticism for the restructured points system, even though he isn't doing the complaining. By missing the cut last week, the Irishman fell from No. 4 to No. 23 in the standings, and if he misses the cut Saturday, he surely will fall out of the top 30 and could miss the Tour Championship.
``It's nuts. I don't think they've got it right quite yet,'' Ian Poulter said. ``How can you have a double major winner not make the Tour Championship? That's complete nonsense.''
Poulter had a 70, not terribly impressive considering he has 36 holes to make one last Ryder Cup impression on European captain Nick Faldo. Paul Casey hit his stride late and shot 68, the other European hopeful of a captain's pick.
Weir was tied for the 36-hole lead a year ago at the Deutsche Bank Championship, but the circumstances were far different. He needed a big week simply to finish among the top 70 and advance to the third round, which he failed to do.
Now he is No. 18 in the FedEx Cup standings and thinking only about each shot.
Singh is trying to convince himself that he's a good putter, although it didn't take much in the opening round. Of his seven birdies, the longest putt was about 6 feet.
``I just don't feel any pressure out there at the moment,'' he said.
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