The Weir and wonderful lefty

SUNDAY was one hell of a day for the left-handed brigade.

Mike Weir claimed his first major and a famed Augusta green jacket after a play-off, while Phil Mickelson came third. Both play "the wrong way round." Not any more they don't. The modern greats like Tiger Woods and Ernie Els and those of the past like Ben Hogan and Sam Snead and Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer have been shown that the lefties can also succeed at the highest level. Nothing wrong with their way.

It's difficult to understand why it has taken so long for a 'citeog' to win a second major championship. Weir was following in the footsteps of the New Zealander Bob Charles who claimed the Open at Lytham St Annes all of forty years ago. And Bob was very happy to shake off the tag of being the only left-hander to win a major when contacted for a telephone interview.

"I watched every shot and I think it's fantastic," he said from his home in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. "It's great to see another left-hander win a major. We're a minority group, the odds are stacked against us."

Weir was well aware that Bob Charles had been the only left-hander to win a major, which he did by beating American Phil Rogers in a 36 hole play-off at Lytham in 1963. In fact, Weir and Charles played a practice round there together prior to the 2001 Open. The experts said a left-hander could not win the Masters because the course favours a player with a natural right to left draw. Yet poor old Phil Mickelson, third for the fourth time at Augusta, has always been among the favourites there and invariably done very well. However, Bob Charles accepts the consensus that the course doesn't favour the lefties.

"It doesn't suit a left to right player," he said, reflecting on the fact that his best finish in fifteen Masters was 15th in 1963. "Mike is essentially left to right, though, so full credit to him. The shortest putt I saw him miss was for birdie on number 16. I salute him, he is now the toast of Canada."

He certainly is. Weir is not the most charismatic character in the world and thoughts of paint drying and pulling teeth crept into one's mind at his champions' press conference on Sunday night. Sound bites were few and far between but his job is to play golf and not give interviews. And at Augusta for three remarkable days he was the best of the crop. Richer by $1,080,000 in prize money and by a lot more in endorsements and bonuses, he was as happy as any man could be, not just for himself but for all 'ciotógs' and his native land.

"I think more and more of us will make noise in the major championships," he declared. "Phil Mickelson has obviously been close in the last few years. But there are other lefties out ready to come through. There are five with their cards and there are more to come."

Even more satisfying for Weir is the fact that he had broken the duck where Canadians in the majors were concerned. The late George Knudson tied for 2nd in the 1969 Masters and that was the nearest they had come.

"It's a big win for Canada and Canadian golf," he glowed. "I felt like I let them down last year when I finished 78th in the money list having been in the top eleven for the previous two seasons. I was motivated to do well this time. Hopefully, some kids back in Canada watching today will be inspired to be here wearing a green jacket some day. As for being a lefty winner, well, I am a left handed golfer but when I'm out there, I'm a golfer. It's a big one for ME."

It was Weir's third win of the season and entitles him to a personal best world ranking of 10th. He moves on this week to the Heritage Classic at Hilton Head in South Carolina and could take a lot of beating.

Sticking to the left-handed theme, it is interesting to note that runner-up Lenny Mattiace is also left-handed. He pointed out: "I'm a left-hander but I play righty. You notice I'm drinking left-handed here. I always played right-handed. I eat left and I write left and kick left."

In contrast, Mickelson is a natural right-hander who got to play the other way through constantly watching his swing in a mirror as a youngster.

"I wasn't rooting for anyone, I was just rooting for a good finish from myself," Phil commented. "I have good friendships with Mike and Lenny and a win would be great for both of them. I'm trying to be non partisan in this. I played well and I'm very pleased with 68 so I'm not going to worry about whether it was good enough or not. I thought 68 might well do it but two guys ran away with it and I can't control what they do.

"Heading into this week, I was very calm and I felt ready to play. I just know that if I go out and play, I'm going to have a shot on Sunday and it's fun to have a chance at winning. And I played well this Sunday, I think it was the best round I played on a Sunday, probably the lowest I've ever shot. Third is better than fourth but there's no consolation in that."

For the past five years, the player-caddy relationship between Tiger Woods and Steve Williams has looked as solid as a rock. But a few chinks appeared at the week-end with Woods clearly unhappy at Williams for insisting he should play a driver from the third tee. He said so on television, qualifying his comments by saying "it's the player's call" and refusing to be drawn subsequently at his press conference where he simply stated: "I wanted to play an iron. That's hindsight. Hindsight is always 20/20. That shot on three was the turning point. Granted, I hit a good shot to get out, but I also left myself one of the hardest shots on the golf course. On top of that, I semi-bladed it so I kept compounding one problem after another."

Woods may have missed out his ambition of winning three Masters in a row. But he is now a wounded Tiger who will be all the more formidable when US Open time comes round in Chicago in June.