Weir Wandering

A Rare Sighting Of Past Masters Champion Has Us Asking Where He Has Been
LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA | In college there were summer jobs available for newspaper writers. They called us interns.

Any sports intern worth his Remington quickly learned a valuable lesson: Never root publicly, even if it’s golf. Keep your favorites to yourself. Objectivity or the appearance thereof, is crucial.

So here we are watching a PGA Tour golf event in the Southern California desert. It’s named the Desert Classic although it could be called the Phil Mickelson Open. Writers, young and old, are rooting loudly for Mickelson. Me, too. Everyone is unapologetic. Go Phil, go. There is no pretense of objectivity.

So much for Journalism 101.

In the first round, Mickelson finished with 10 birdies, one eagle and seven pars. That’s a 12-under-par 60 at La Quinta Country Club. If he had birdied either the 16th or 17th holes, he would have broken 60.

That was fun. But I have an admission to make. Besides Mickelson, my attention has been focused on a player who shot 1-under-par 71 in the first round of the Desert Classic, leaving him 11 strokes behind Mickelson.

My guy is 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir, who is the longest of long shots in this tournament. In the second round, Mickelson shot 4-under-par 68 while Weir had 2-under-par 70. Both played the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West.

Welcome back, Mike. Many fans are rooting diligently for you. They have seen the injuries and obstacl...