Mike Weir seeks Canadian magic at Shaw Charity Classic

Mike Weir doesn’t get to play a lot of home games.

So yes, it’s special to be in Calgary for the Shaw Charity Classic.

“I’ve been off for three weeks; it’s good to get back,” Weir said Thursday. “Coming back up here, I know the fan support is going to be great. The golf course is in really good condition. The greens are great, so yeah, look forward to getting started tomorrow.”

Weir played well in his Shaw debut a year ago. A blistering opening-round 63 saw him one shot off the pace of Billy Mayfair before Weir eventually finished in a tie for ninth. Mayfair came in solo fifth, while Doug Barron claimed the title.

Weir gets the kind of support in his native Canada that Nick Faldo would get at The Open Championship. Last year’s crowds were limited because of the COVID pandemic, yet they still were loud. So it might be raucous this year.

“It was (loud last year). There was a nice lady who made me some homemade jam. It was great,” Weir said. “I’ve seen on TV in the past years before last year and saw the crowd support and the turnout. Calgary loves their golf, so I suspect it will be … I don’t know how many thousands of people, but a really good turnout this year.”

Weir, 52, hasn’t quite played up to his standard thus far in 2022. He has only one top-10 finish in 10 events this year after posting 12 such finishes over 29 events in the elongated 2020-21 season. The lone top 10 was a tie for fourth at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at the end of May.

Judging from his year-over-year statistics, Weir appears to be struggling with his approach shots and mightily on the greens despite driving distance and accuracy being virtually the same as last season. His greens in regulation are down nearly 6% and his putting average has plummeted from a rank of eighth to 57th.

But as most golfers, he’s only one good round away from turning it around, and why not make it in front of the home fans?

“I think all of us are excited to play in a place where you get that kind of support and the fans come out to watch us play and watch us compete,” Weir said. “We’ve got a good field here this year and good group that I have Friday, so really looking forward to it.”

Whatever group Weir was in figured to be the big draw, but it will be even bigger with Fred Couples and Jerry Kelly. Kelly has won twice since June 1 and has finished in the top 10 in four of his past five events, while Couples will be making just his fifth appearance this season.

“I always look forward to playing with Freddie and Jerry,” Weir said. “Fred’s a big sports fan, so is Jerry. I think we all talk hockey quite a bit. There will be a lot of hockey talk, I’m sure. Good to see Freddie back and playing. Hopefully he’s healthy.”

The home crowd and two big-time players in his group might be just the tonic Weir needs to jump-start the rest of his season.

“If the group that’s going, we make birdies, the group can kind of feed on that, so hopefully that’s what we do,” Weir said. “Hopefully we all get off to a good start and get rolling.”