TOUR Insider: Weir hoping for more good fortune

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The bounce that Mike Weir enjoyed last year after his inspired Presidents Cup performance -- one that culminated in his upset of No. 1 Tiger Woods in singles competition -- has carried the Canadian left-hander to some satisfying heights since.

The proof, mostly, is in his status as the defending champion of this week's $5 million Frys.com Open at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., the fifth event in the PGA TOUR's Fall Series.

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Mike Weir tied for 10th last week in Las Vegas.

Weir, with a 14-under-par 266 total, defeated Mark Hensby by one shot and ended a winless drought of more than three years. It was his second straight top-10 finish after the Presidents Cup to double his total for the season. The former Masters champion hasn't won in 2008 but he's twice finished second -- as many as he's registered in the previous five seasons -- and has seven top-10s and 12 top-25 finishes.

"Three-and-a-half years is a long time to wait," Weir said of his eighth PGA TOUR victory. "Since my first year on TOUR it's been the longest stretch without winning. It was a tough few years, but I feel like things are back on track."

He has no doubt what turned his game around. "My confidence is a lot better. I feel a lot better about things," he said recently.

And the reason?

Well, he did refine his stack-and-tilt swing changes, which have resulted in hitting more greens in regulation (60 more than last year already). Combined with better putting, you're bound to contend more often.

But, in the end, you have to realize some meaningful results. His Presidents Cup play was the catalyst. "The things I've done so far in my career, winning the Masters, very rewarding," said Weir, 38, who enjoyed a break during the Ryder Cup this year to rest a few nagging aches and pains, including a sore right elbow. "But then to play as well as I did in the Presidents Cup in Canada, when I'd been thinking about it for a couple of years before, that was pretty special."

Weir heads a field of 132 players to take on the Raptor Course at Grayhawk Golf Club, a par-70 layout of 7,125 yards. Sixteen of the top 50 on the money list have committed to the event, and 10 winners from this season are teeing it up, including Marc Turnesa, who won last week's Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open. In addition to Weir, Tim Clark (38), Woody Austin (43) Sean O'Hair (45), and Scott Verplank (49) are other players in the field who rank among the top-50 on the Official World Golf Ranking.

FALL SERIES NOTES

• A number of Valley residents have entered this week, including 1996 British Open champion and 2006 Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman and Aaron Baddeley, the last entrant into the field whose two PGA TOUR titles include the 2007 FBR Open at TPC Scottsdale. Others include Billy Mayfair, Jeff Quinney, Kirk Triplett, Todd Demsey, Robert Garrigus, Pat Perez, Kevin Stadler and Arron Oberholser.

• After a three-month hiatus because of hand surgery, Oberholser is making his second straight start. He missed the cut last week at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open.

• Another Valley resident, Mark Calcavecchia, had committed to the Fry's.com Open, but withdrew because of ongoing problems with his knee that forced him to have surgery on Oct. 14. This is the third surgery on the same knee for Calcavecchia, who is determined to return in time to join Woody Austin in defense of the Merrill Lynch Shootout crown in December.

• Weir, at No. 23 in the Official World Golf Ranking, is the highest ranked player in the field. Ryuji Imada, winner earlier this year at the AT&T Classic, is the leader among money winners, coming in at 13th with $3.029 million. Weir is not far behind at 15th in earnings.

• Fresh off a tie for sixth in Las Vegas, Davis Love III finds himself the bubble boy at 125th on the money list. With just three events remaining, Love has no shortage of pursuers. Just two players -- Joe Durant and Steve Allan -- ranked between 126 and 140 are missing.

• A week after a promising showing at the Valero Texas Open with new equipment, Rory Sabbatini missed the cut in Las Vegas. Sabbatini put a new Adams driver and 3-wood, both protypes of a new line that won't be available until next year, in his bag. The South African finished 16th in driving distance in Texas with an average of 313.9 yards. He averaged 311 in Vegas, nearly 20 yards farther than his season average of 292.2.

• Five players put the new TaylorMade Tour Preferred irons in the bag at the Valero Texas Open, and they all are in the field this week: Carlos Franco, Nathan Green, Dustin Johnson, Sean O'Hair and Bob Sowards. O'Hair should be extra keen on seeing how they work out, given his tie for fourth at Grayhawk last year.

• Peter Lonard has switched to a new, shorter Rossa Daytona KiaMa putter. He is trying to improve on the greens, where he ranks 141st on the TOUR.

• Note to struggling TOUR members: Make a point of getting in the Las Vegas field next year. Marc Turnesa's victory marks the fourth time in five years that a player outside the top 125 on the money list took home the title. Talk about your long shots paying off.