AUGUSTA, Ga. — In the end, Mike Weir was just six shots behind Masters winner and fellow lefty Phil Mickelson after making birdies on the final two holes at Augusta National Sunday.

The Draper resident was pleased with his overall play at the Masters, but lamented, as he had all week, about all the putts that just missed and kept him from contending for his second green jacket.

The 2003 champion shot a final-round 70 to finish at 287 in a tie for 11th place. It didn't quite match last year's tie for fifth place, but he was actually two shots closer to the winner.

"I played really well today," Weir said. "I fired it at a lot of pins and tried to play aggressive. I could have been five- or six-under if I could have gotten some momentum going. But that's how it seemed to be all week with my putting."

For all intents, Weir saw his chances go kerplunk at the par-5 13th hole in his morning (third) round, which led to a double bogey. Weir had been so consistent all tournament, making 27 pars in the first two rounds and 16 in the third round when he had one birdie in addition to the double at 13 when he hit into Rae's Creek.

He began the final round at 1-over par, five shots behind Mickelson, but was never able to climb into contention. Birdies at 13 and 15 got him to 1-under par, but another shot into the water at the par-3 16th hole led to another double bogey.

"I hit a good shot there, but unfortunately I got a big gust of wind that switched when I was on the tee," he said. "That was unfortunate."

Weir said of all the Masters tournaments he's played in (this was his sixth), the wind was the trickiest this time.

"I've played in stronger winds, but this was probably the toughest because of the way it was swirling around," he said. "Every 15 seconds it would switch."

At No. 13, Weir took an inordinate amount of time deciding on what to hit from the fairway, while watching the wind in the trees by the green. Finally he settled on his hybrid club and hit a beautiful shot from more than 200 yards to 10 feet above the hole.

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He missed the eagle try, but made his birdie and added another bird at the par-5 15th. At No. 16 he thought his 6-iron was the right club and it headed straight toward the pin before falling short into the lake.

However, he recovered with birdies on the tough 17th and 18th holes and joined Padraig Harrington as the only player in the field to birdie both holes Sunday. For his efforts, Weir earned $161,000 for the week.

Weir said he plans to return home to Utah for a week before heading out to play in the Shell Houston Open the following week.


E-mail: sor@desnews.com

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