Mike Weir

He's all lined up K.J. Choi tees off from the second hole during the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Kapalua, Hawaii. Choi, at eight over par after two rounds, was far behind leader Mike Weir, who was at eight under.

Eighteen players will try to tune out the Tiger Woods controversy to win the $5.75-million tournament in Thousand Oaks that benefits Woods' charity. The four-day Chevron World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club starts today. Of the 10 previous winners, only Padraig Harrington -- who won in 2002 -- is playing in this year's tournament, with prize money ranging from $1.35 million for the winner to $150,000 for the last-place finisher. Woods is a four-time winner of the event but is not playing amid his personal problems.

What a relief it was to read Monday's sports section and learn that Charles Howell would not have a scar after losing the Nissan Open to Mike Weir. How does Diane Pucin come up with such brilliant insights? David B. Radden Venice Bill Plaschke's articles are becoming more and more like Diane Pucin's. Are they the same person? Has anyone seen them at the same time? Gary A. Robb Los Feliz

BIRDIE Tom Lehman putted out on No. 18, and within seconds a fan shouted from the stands: "Thank you, Tom!" Lehman removed his cap in gratitude but then whipped it downward, as if trying to swat a fly. He had just bogeyed the 18th by leaving an eight-foot putt short. Few would have expected Lehman, 50, to make the cut in the PGA Championship, being played in his home state. But Lehman made it with two shots to spare -- and longed to do even better. "The fans here are tremendous; they're the best," Lehman said.

The 45th Bob Hope Chrysler Classic -- the first since Hope died at 100 last summer -- begins its five-day, 90-hole run Wednesday at the Palmer Course at PGA West, La Quinta Country Club, Bermuda Dunes Country Club and Indian Wells Country Club. Mike Weir is the defending champion. Weir went on to win the Masters and the Nissan Open in a breakout year for the 33-year-old Canadian. Weir was fifth on the money list last year with $4.9 million and had 10 top-10 finishes in 21 tournaments.

Eighteen players will try to tune out the Tiger Woods controversy to win the $5.75-million tournament in Thousand Oaks that benefits Woods' charity. The four-day Chevron World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club starts today. Of the 10 previous winners, only Padraig Harrington -- who won in 2002 -- is playing in this year's tournament, with prize money ranging from $1.35 million for the winner to $150,000 for the last-place finisher. Woods is a four-time winner of the event but is not playing amid his personal problems.

Now that Mike Weir has wrapped up a second consecutive Nissan Open title, he can start devoting time to really important things, such as deciding what kind of food will be served at the Champions Dinner at the Masters. As the defending Masters champion, it is up to Weir to determine what is on the menu. "I've been kicking around a few ideas," Weir told the Miami Herald a while back. "My mom cooks some awesome Italian food. My wife is Mexican, and I love that.

Mike Weir started playing golf as a preteen in Canada during the 1970s, winning professional tournaments on the Canadian Tour in 1993 and winning on the PGA Tour in 1999, but you could argue that his career really began at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic last year. At least that's when people started paying attention to it.

Mike Weir must think he gets paid by the hole. Three weeks ago, he won the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, which you can do only if you last 90 holes over five days. Then on Sunday at the Nissan Open, he came from seven shots down to catch Charles Howell III, forced him into a playoff and won again on the second extra hole. Overtime, it's the Weir way. It may be the only method he knows, so you would have to say it's working out fairly well for him.

Mike Weir had the perfect start and perfect finish Saturday in the Genuity Championship, where palm trees swaying in the wind suddenly turned another scoring assault into a day of survival at Miami. Weir knocked in a 40-foot eagle putt on the first hole using his three-wood, and closed out a wild, windy round at Doral with great approach shot for a birdie to give him a three-under-par 69 and a one-stroke lead over Hal Sutton.

As they completed one round and part of another Friday at the U.S. Open golf tournament, it became clear that the stars were out of line over Bethpage State Park. Weird was the norm. A player whose last name started with "W" was the first-round leader, shooting a six-under-par 64 that was one shot shy of tying the best round ever in a major tournament. "I was in a good place all day," said Mike Weir, the Canadian who won the 2003 Masters. The more famous "W"?

An onrushing 24-year-old South Carolinian will have to wait to sate that golfer's inner curiosity about how he might function playing a final round with a four-shot lead. What's not uncertain, though, is Dustin Johnson's fresh place in any conversation about wildly promising 20-something PGA Tour golfers.

Mike Weir holed a five-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a four-under-par 67 to take a one-stroke lead Sunday in the Deutsche Bank Championship at Norton, Mass., leaving him in a familiar position with hopes of a better outcome. It is the 10th time the Canadian has had at least a share of the 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour, but he has only one victory when leading going into the final round. Protecting this one might be the toughest challenge yet. Camilo Villegas ignored swirling wind and increasingly firm conditions at TPC Boston to shoot 63, putting him in the final group with Weir for perhaps his best chance at his first PGA Tour victory.

Tim Clark needed only one birdie over his last two holes to shoot 59. He finished with consecutive bogeys and had to settle for a one-shot lead Saturday in the Deutsche Bank Championship at Norton, Mass. The South African still matched his career low with a nine-under-par 62 on soft and vulnerable TPC Boston, giving him a one-shot lead over Mike Weir of Canada at the halfway point of the PGA Tour's second playoff event. On another day of low scoring, Clark was trying to get into contention when he shot to the top of the leaderboard by playing a six-hole stretch in seven under, including two eagles.

Mike Weir shaved his "playoff beard" when his wife and children flew in this week, but that had no bearing on his golf Friday. This was a round to enjoy, not explain. Weir birdied the first four holes and one-putted his final nine greens in the Deutsche Bank Championship to tie the course record at TPC Boston with a 10-under 61 at Norton, Mass., the lowest round of his PGA Tour career. Weir had a three-shot lead over a group of four players that included Vijay Singh, whose victory last week at The Barclays put him atop the standings in the PGA Tour playoffs for the FedEx Cup. Singh previously had the TPC Boston course record to himself, a 61 in the third round two years ago. And the Fijian set the tone for a day of low scores when he ran off five birdies in a six-hole stretch for a 64. It took Weir only 10 holes to catch him. "There was no indication on the putting green when I was warming up that was going to tell me it was going to be like that," Weir said.

Mike Weir finally got one last birdie putt to fall, and it was enough to put him in the lead Saturday at the Mercedes-Benz Championship at Kapalua, Hawaii. Weir, who missed three consecutive birdie chances inside 10 feet on the back nine, hit a deft chip to three feet for birdie on the par-five 18th that gave him a five-under-par 68. Weir is at 13-under 206 and has a one-shot lead over Nick Watney, who birdied his last two holes for a 67.

Tim Clark needed only one birdie over his last two holes to shoot 59. He finished with consecutive bogeys and had to settle for a one-shot lead Saturday in the Deutsche Bank Championship at Norton, Mass. The South African still matched his career low with a nine-under-par 62 on soft and vulnerable TPC Boston, giving him a one-shot lead over Mike Weir of Canada at the halfway point of the PGA Tour's second playoff event. On another day of low scoring, Clark was trying to get into contention when he shot to the top of the leaderboard by playing a six-hole stretch in seven under, including two eagles.

Mike Weir holed a five-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a four-under-par 67 to take a one-stroke lead Sunday in the Deutsche Bank Championship at Norton, Mass., leaving him in a familiar position with hopes of a better outcome. It is the 10th time the Canadian has had at least a share of the 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour, but he has only one victory when leading going into the final round. Protecting this one might be the toughest challenge yet. Camilo Villegas ignored swirling wind and increasingly firm conditions at TPC Boston to shoot 63, putting him in the final group with Weir for perhaps his best chance at his first PGA Tour victory.

He's all lined up K.J. Choi tees off from the second hole during the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Kapalua, Hawaii. Choi, at eight over par after two rounds, was far behind leader Mike Weir, who was at eight under.

The United States won the Presidents Cup. Mike Weir gave Canada quite a consolation prize. The Americans won enough of the singles matches Sunday in Montreal to capture the Presidents Cup for the second straight time, giving them a victory in cup competition away from the United States for the first time since 1993.