There is a lot of chatter this 80th year of the Masters, about it being the most anticipated of all time, with as many as a dozen guys led of course by Rory, Jason and Jordan at the top of the list who you can make a case for being the favourite.
Without Tiger and his 4 Masters in the mix anymore, it is hard to argue about this being the most anticipated, but whether it will go down as the most memorable has yet to be seen.
I can say however, that title, and I started watching the Masters in 1961 when Gary Player became the 'first foreigner" to win, goes without a doubt to Mike Weir in 2003 when this entire country, golf fans and non, were on the edge of their seats, as Weirsy made history with his epic win in a playoff over Len Mattiace..
Being of Scottish ancestry I have always had an international perspective on life, but for the purposes of this blog, in golf, and some of my most memorable tournaments have revolved around the panache of Seve' in 1980,83, or the short game wizardry of Jose Maria Olazabal in 1994,99, or Bernhard Langer who overcame the worst case of the yips to be able to handle Augusta's greens better than anyone in 1985, 93. Nick Faldo's 3 wins all had their moments none more than 1996 when Greg Norman blew a 7 shot lead with a meltdown of epic proportions, and Angel Cabrera's win in 2009 had me glued to the set, he has the perfect game for Augusta and he won it the week he gave up smoking, I'm still not sure which was the more difficult.
Of course nobody's lead was safe on Sunday afternoon when Jack was playing, he always seemed to make a charge, winning 6 times of course, his last in 1986 is for many the greatest ever Masters.
But for me, it was Mike Weir, who you'll remember was right on top of his game in 2003, he won the Bob Hope and the Nissan early in that season, and also T3 at the US Open and T7 at the PGA. He was ranked #3, won the Lou Marsh and was voted Canadian athlete of the year.
Johnny Miller said he was the best player on the planet from 100 yards in at the time and his short game certainly made up for his lack of length off the tee.
He led by 4 shots after 2 rounds in awful weather 70,68 with only 4 players under par. However a 75 in the third round saw him slip to second place at -3 behind Jeff Maggert who shot 66 for a 2 shot lead.
This country has come together as a nation over sporting events on very few occasions. The Summit Series in 1972 for sure, the Blue Jays winning the World Series in 1992 and '93 and I'd say the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010.
This coming Sunday in 2003 was another of those occasions. I remember Maggert being assessed a penalty stroke early in the round as his ball came back and hit him as he attempted a fairway bunker shot and that was the end for him (75), I remember Len Mattiace racing up the leaderboard, finishing ahead of Mike with a -7 65 to get to -7, then in one of the biggest pressure putts of his life, Weirsy made that seven footer for par on the 18th to get into a playoff.
The sudden death playoff that year went to the par4 10th, for the last time. Tiger calls it the most difficult driving hole on the course, with a green that slopes sharply from right to left.
It turned out to be anti climatic as Mattiace made a double bogey, and Weirsy won it all with a bogey of his own.
He's in the field for life now, he hasn't made the cut for a few as he struggles with his game, however the little lefty will be doing some TV analysis with my radio partner Bob Weeks over the weekend, so no doubt we will get a chance to re-live the Sunday at Augusta that changed his life....and gave his country one of it's most memorable moments..
Bryan Angus
Bryan Angus
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