US Open: Mike Weir back to lead Canadians at Merion

Mike Weir isn’t the golfer he once was. The lefty is now 43 years old and hasn’t played at the US Open since 2010. But this year he’ll tee up at Merion Golf Club outside of Philadelphia after earning one of six spots reserved for players who moved into the world top 60 ratings earlier this week.

The past three years have been tough for the Bright’s Grove, Ontario native. He has consistently battled injuries and poor play, but has always been a figurehead for Canadian golf no matter how he was playing along the way.

On Tuesday, he was grouped with three other Canadians at the US Open practice round and said he was happy to have some Canucks to talk puck with. Weir is also encouraged with his game recently. “It’s turning around. I feel great and I’m swinging pretty well,’’ Weir told reporters about making each of his last three cuts.

The weather has been the big story at the US Open this week after heavy rains pounded the course consistently ahead of Thursday’s opening round. With Merion playing less than 7,000 total yards, the USGA hoped for fast and firm conditions to challenge the field. That doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. The fairways and greens were still soaking during the practice rounds and most expect it will take a while for them to dry out. That means you can expect some interesting pin placements as tournament organizers try to make it tough on the players.

“It’s fun and you usually don’t think of U.S. Open courses as being too much fun,” Weir told reporters. “They’re usually a grind. But it has a great mix of holes and you’re going to use every club in your bag.”

Weir is set as a big +31,000 underdog to win this weekend’s tournament at Sports Interaction, while Tiger Woods is the favourite at +477.