Weir and the Masters

 GOLF

   It shouldn't be too difficult to quickly produce a sports-related post. I recently did one on curling, which some people regard as a sport, and now will focus on golf, which some people argue, doesn't require much in the way of athleticism and should only be played by badly dressed senior citizens.

  The attention of Canadians will soon be diverted for a few days from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which began last August and will end next August, to the Masters at Augusta National. It is usually diverted to Augusta at this time of year since the azaleas provide us with some much needed colour, or color as they would write in Georgia. Much more of it will be there this year because it was twenty years ago that Mike Weir won The Masters and he will be playing there again. 

  Other Canadians will be involved as well, and that there are more of them on the PGA and LPGA Tours is likely because of the example set by Weir. Corey Conners from Listowel will also be playing in the Masters where it surely will be much warmer than it was in Listowell in 2003 when the 11-year-old Connors could not watch Weir putt on the 18th hole to get in a playoff: "I had to leave the living room," Connors recalled almost 20 years later. "I heard my dad cheer  and I knew he had made it." It may be that Weir was inspirational for females as well since Brook Henderson is doing well on the LPGA and Maddie Szeryk of London is playing on that Tour today in Palos Verdes. At the end of the second round, the Canadian Maude-Aimee Leblanc is tied for third.

   The folks at Golf Canada want to see more Canadian golfers on both professional tours and time and money are being spent to achieve the goal of having 30 Canadians on the PGA or LPGA Tours by 2032. Canada has a lot of golf courses and it is felt that there should be more Canadians among the top 200. There are 84 U.S. male golfers among the top 200 and 62 Korean women in the female category. Canada has 6 men and 2 women among the top 200. This year there will be 3 Canadians joining Weir at The Master (Connors, Adam Svensson, and Mackenzie Hughes). Maybe next year there will be more.

The Bonus: 
  There is a tradition at The Masters (there are a lot of them) that the winner provides The Masters Champions Dinner the following year. Weir chose: elk, wild boar, Arctic char and Canadian beer. 

Sources:
  The Connor's quote and the table above are from: "Canada Hopes to Double the Number of Players on Golf's Biggest Stages: Here's How," Gary Mason, G&M, Feb. 25, 2023. 

More On Golf From MM:

About golf in London see: Joy in Mudville. 
To learn about another good Canadian golfer see: Rod Spittle. 
To find out what colour (or color) balls you should have, see: On Golf Balls. 
To read more about the darker side of the brightly coloured Augusta National, see my post on The Canadian Masters.  It is an event that is even more exclusive than The Masters and the horticulture is better. The only thing lacking is the golf. Tickets went on sale on March 1 and it looks like they are all gone. Gardens of Les Quatre Vents.