Wilson wanted to win for Weir, needed to for his TOUR card

text size

McGrath/Getty Images

Dean Wilson, after Sunday's second-place finish, is still searching for a path back to the TOUR.

Besides their career choices as professional golfers, Dean Wilson and Mike Weir share several other commonalities: Both were teammates at Brigham Young University, both adhere to the stack-and-tilt swing approach and, now, both have experienced the bitter disappointment of almost winning the RBC Canadian Open.

Rd. 4, RBC Canadian
Wilson's scorecard
Bogey on No. 14 hurt
Wilson on Rd. 3 lead

Weir's near-miss in 2004 was excruciating because Weir is a Canadian hero who let the tournament slip through his fingers in front of his adoring fans.

Wilson's close call Sunday was no less painful. Not because of what it would have meant to the Canadian fans who lined the St. George's Golf and Country Club fairways; but because of what it would have meant to Wilson.

Wilson knows how fleeting this game can be. In 2003, he earned acclaim for the gracious way he served as one of Annika Sorenstam's playing partners at her ballyhooed appearance at Colonial. Three years later, Wilson earned something even more tangible, winning The International while finishing 25th on the money list with more than $2.5 million.

But Wilson's career ascension came to an abrupt stop -- like a golfer stopping his backswing because of a noise -- when he finished 152nd on the money list last year with just one top-10 finish.

By finishing out of the top 125, Wilson was forced to rely on sponsor exemptions -- like the one his buddy Weir wrangled for him last week -- to keep working for a living on the PGA TOUR. Prior to Canada, Wilson had gotten into just eight PGA TOUR events this year, with five missed cuts and no finish better than 25th.

That's why it was so important for Wilson to finish the job in Canada. He had opened with three consecutive 65s and, with a four-shot lead entering the final round, seemed poised to return as PGA TOUR winner and all the perks that go along with it. Weir continued to provide support, text-messaging his ex-college teammate Sunday morning to exhort him to get the job done.

Wilson saw his lead grow to six shots when Carl Pettersson -- who had charged into contention Saturday with a 60 -- bogeyed a pair of holes on the front nine. There were just 11 holes remaining.

"I knew exactly what it meant," Wilson said after his 72, "and I just didn't execute my shots. And that's a little disappointing."

Wilson could only manage a birdie and three bogeys the rest of the way, opening the door for Pettersson, who birdied six of his next eight holes before a meaningless bogey at the 72nd hole. When the scorecards had been added up, Wilson had come up one shot short in his attempt to kick-start his career back into PGA TOUR relevancy.

And just like that, the prospect of a feel-good story had disappeared like an errant shot into a pond, leaving behind the ripples of frustration. Wilson admitted he was sick over the fact he couldn't get the victory to repay Weir's support.

"Real disappointed I didn't do it (for Weir)," Wilson said. "I'm not as disappointed as I was when he didn't win it in 2004, though. There was a tear in my eye. I was really cheering for him. I was out there."

Of course, Wilson doesn't walk away empty-handed. His runner-up check of $550,800 -- his largest since he beat Tom Lehman in a playoff at The International for years ago -- takes his career off life support. Wilson vaulted from 198th in the FedExCup standings to 100th; he jumped 100 spots, to No. 110, on the money list.

The top-10 finish gets him into The Greenbrier Classic this week, but then there's a World Golf Championship event, the PGA Championship, followed soon thereafter by the FedExCup playoffs. While Wilson admits he would have settled for a runner-up finish in Canada without teeing off, he knows there's lots of work to be done without many playing opportunities remaining.

"I'm happy with moving up on the Money List, moving up on the FedExCup point list, but my options are pretty slim," Wilson said. "I'm not going to get in very many tournaments from here on out. I'll get in next week ... and maybe I can get another sponsor invite here and there, but I'm going to have to make a few more bucks to get into the top 125. Hopefully I'm up high enough, maybe I can get in some FedExCup events, the first one maybe. I need to move up a little bit to assure my card so I don't have to go to TOUR school next year."

Then again, Wilson has never taken the traditional route to success. The Hawaii native spent three years (2000-2002) on the Japan Tour, winning six times before he came to the PGA TOUR the same year his pal Weir won the Masters. With his youthful looks, he certainly doesn't look like a 40-year-old athlete.

And it took a veteran who shot a 60 in the third round to deny Wilson that elusive second PGA TOUR victory.

"I'm happy with the way I performed today," Wilson said. "I just didn't get it done."

Craig Dolch is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.