When it comes to the Nissan Open, seven is Mike Weir’s lucky number. He was down seven strokes on the final day last year before battling back to beat Charles Howell III in a playoff. He was up seven strokes on Sunday and held off Shigeki Maruyama to become the first repeat champion at Riviera Country Club since Corey Pavin in 1995. It was the first time in six attempts on the PGA Tour that Weir won when leading or tied after 54 holes. “This is a big win for a couple of reasons,” Weir said afterward. “Until today, I’d never defended a title before and I’d never won with a lead. So I had a lot to prove to myself.” At 17-under par, Weir won by one stroke over Maruyama and by three over Stuart Appleby. The winner’s check of $864,000 was the highest in the tournament’s 78-year history and $54,000 more than he received last year, but Weir’s primary concern afterwards was not about where to spend his money or put the trophy he held aloft during the victory ceremony. Instead, his first priority was finding shelter from the rain, which started as a drizzle and built to a downpour throughout his round. Once indoors and dry, Weir had time to reflect on his accomplishment and admitted it was harder playing from ahead Sunday than it had been to come from behind a year ago. “It was easier last year because the pressure was off,” Weir admitted. “Today, I tried to play it smart. But you can be more aggressive when you’re behind. Shigeki got on a roll and some of the putts that were falling for me earlier in the week weren’t dropping today. I still shot even par, which isn’t that bad on this course and in these conditions, yet it was barely enough.” Weir began the round five shots ahead, then birdied two of the first three holes to increase his lead. But as the weather worsened and ominous gray clouds turned into a downpour by early afternoon, Maruyama whittled away at Weir’s advantage until he pulled even with a birdie putt on 16. Both players parred the 17th, setting the stage for a one-hole showdown. Maruyama missed the fairway on his tee shot at Riviera’s famed 18th hole, which was altered slightly for the tournament. His third shot skimmed well past the flag and stopped off the edge of the green. Weir’s 25-foot chip shot from the rough caught a good lie and rolled within inches of the cup. “My mentality was that Shigeki was going to make his shot as well as he’d been playing,” Weir said. “So I had to try to win it right there and if I missed, hopefully I’d be close enough to save par.” The crowd groaned when Maruyama pushed his par attempt a foot wide of the hole and roared its applause moments later when Weir calmly tapped in to defend his title. And it was praise well-deserved, for Weir had posted the lowest score at Riviera in 14 years. In fact, his four-day total of 267 was three shy of the 72-hole course record set by Lanny Wadkins in 1985. “I didn’t think about the weather or about my inability to hold a lead,” said Weir, who grew up in Canada and recognized several Canadian flags pledging their allegiance to his cause throughout the week. “You can’t play defense in golf. You’ve got to be able to handle whatever the opponents and mother nature throw at you. I know Shigeki said I had an advantage in cold weather being that I’m from Canada, but we all play under tough conditions at various tournaments, so I don’t think that was a factor.” Attendance increased each day and even afternoon showers didn’t keep 30,925 spectators from lining the galleries in trench coats and umbrellas to watch Sunday’s final-round drama unfold. “I’m disappointed that I lost but I’m happy that I was at least able to catch Mikey and make it interesting,” Maruyama said. “I didn’t think I’d have a chance until I pulled even at the 16th. That was the first time I got a little excited.” Maruyama shot a 64 on Thursday and a 66 on Friday. Weir shot just the opposite and the two were tied at a record-tying 12-under at the halfway point of the tournament. Also in contention were Appleby, Jeff Maggert, Briny Baird, Scott McCarron and 2000 Nissan Open champion Kirk Triplett. Making the cut for a record 117th time was small consolation for the world’s No. 1 player, Tiger Woods, who remained winless in nine tries at Riviera (two as an amateur and seven as a professional). He shot one over par on Thursday and again on Saturday, leaving him 14 shots behind with one round left. Like last year, Woods made a furious charge on the final day but it was too late to catch the leaders. He parred the first two holes, birdied seven of the next nine, then double-bogeyed the 12th. Woods birdied four of the next five holes and closed with a bogey on 18 to finish seven-under-par for the day and 10-under for the tournament. He shot a final round 65 last year and tied for fifth. His best Nissan Open finish was second in 1998 when he lost in a playoff to Billy Mayfair, but that was at Valencia Country Club in Santa Clarita. “I love this golf course, how can you not?” Woods said of Riviera. “It’s a lot more fun when the it’s hard and fast but this year the weather just didn’t cooperate. Last year it was hard and fast and you saw what the scores were. Single digits won. It’s totally different this year. You can take dead aim and let it fly and you know the ball is just going to plunk.” Fan favorite John Daly, fresh off a win at the Buick Invitational–his first PGA Tour victory since 1995–finished four shots off the pace at -13 and received a standing ovation from the gallery after a birdie on his last hole Sunday. “The support was great and I felt it out there,” Daly said. “It feels good to come here and put together another solid round. I feel like my game’s come back and I’ve played some good golf here the last two weeks.” Carl Pettersson hit the only hole in one of the week, and the first on the PGA Tour this year, Friday at the par-three 14th hole. He playfully tossed his ball into the gallery after his tee shot from 176 yards away landed on the green and rolled in. Weir’s 54-hole total was one shot better than the previous three-day record set by Fred Couples in 1990. Weir became the sixth player to win the tournament twice in a row and the third player to win back-to-back at Riviera. The others were Ben Hogan in 1947-48 and Pavin in 1994-95. MacDonald Smith won what was first known as the Los Angeles Open at Wilshire Country Club in 1928 and repeated the following year at Riviera. Paul Harney and Arnold Palmer each won back-to-back in the 1960s when the tournament was played at Rancho Municipal Golf Course. Asked to compare his two victories, Weir admitted Sunday’s meant more. “What makes this win more gratifying is that I had to dig deep when Shigeki was making a charge. The adrenaline was flowing more than it would have been if I was running away with it. Not to say I wouldn’t have like to win by 10. I would’ve. It just didn’t happen that way.”
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