For Canadian golf legend Mike Weir, one of the perks of any trip north is an opportunity to talk hockey.
These days, he’s also talking hockey in his adopted hometown — and absolutely loving it.
Weir, who hails originally from Brights Grove, Ont., lives just south of Salt Lake City. From door-to-door, it’s about a 20-minute drive to Delta Center, the new home rink of the Utah Hockey Club, freshly relocated from Arizona.
“I bought season tickets,” said Weir, who is in Calgary this week to compete in the Rogers Charity Classic at Canyon Meadows. “Oh yeah, of course of I did. I mean, you get to watch NHL hockey. I’m a Red Wings guy but when you have a new team come into town …
“I don’t know a lot of players yet, but I’ve heard the buzz that the foundation is in place. I went and watched a couple of their practices in Park City at development camp, with the up-and-coming guys, and they looked great. They looked big. We have Jarome’s son, obviously. So it’s exciting for the future.”
Ah, c’mon Mike! Folks in this city are not quite ready to be reminded that second-generation sharpshooter Tij Iginla — the son of the greatest player in Flames’ franchise history — will soon be lighting the lamp in Salt Lake.
But otherwise, they’re thrilled that Weir is back to talk hockey … and to take another run at the tournament title at Canyon Meadows.
Since the 54-year-old Weir is also a Team Rogers athlete, part of a roster of high-profile brand ambassadors that also features hockey superstars Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Marie-Philip Poulin, tennis ace Bianca Andreescu and baseball slugger George Springer, it would be an especially big deal if he plays his way into contention this week. In three appearances so far at Calgary’s annual PGA Tour Champions showdown, his best finish is a tie for ninth in 2021.
“It’s always great to come home. This is the only time we get to do that on the PGA Tour Champions right now,” said Weir, a sporting icon in this country ever since his triumph at the Masters in 2003. “From the first time I played here a few years ago, I really liked the golf course. I’d like to play a little better on it. Hopefully this year.
“But I always enjoy playing here. The city is great. Great restaurants. Great food. The fans come out here better than probably any other event on the PGA Tour Champions. So I think all the players enjoy coming here to Calgary. We’re treated great. There’s a woman who is a volunteer here and she gives me some homemade jam every year, and it’s awesome. So I always look forward to that.”
Weir will be spending a bit of extra time on Canadian soil in the coming weeks.
He’s serving as captain of the International side for the Presidents Cup, which is played in alternate years with the Ryder Cup and pits the top golfers from the U.S. against a crew comprised from elsewhere outside of Europe.
The event is slated for Sept. 26-29 at Royal Montreal.
Weir will finalize his lineup this month, saying those looming decisions have been “top of mind” and his own game has been a secondary concern.
“This is crunch time for a lot of players,” Weir said at a press conference Wednesday at Canyon Meadows, where Rogers was revealed as the official telecommunications partner of the 2024 Presidents Cup. “We have six automatic spots, off the world rankings, and then there’s six picks with a lot of Canadians in the mix. I’m hoping they are going to really play well over these next couple weeks and I can pick ’em for the team. But as I’ve said all along, this is the International team. It’s not Team Canada. You have to be fair to everybody.”
Weir, during his PGA Tour heyday, was a five-time participant in the Presidents Cup. When Royal Montreal last played host in 2007, he defeated an in-his-prime Tiger Woods in a singles match.
“Being a team sport guy growing up, playing hockey and a number of different sports on a team … When you’re an individual sport athlete, I missed that,” Weir said. “I know from the git-go that I loved it. I loved the camaraderie of the guys and I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of for as long as I could.
“I appreciate the event. I love the competition. I’ve said this before — it’s a pure competition. There’s a lot of stuff going on in the game of golf these days but this is pure competition, and I think the fans love that. They don’t want to hear the stuff about money and the rivalries between tours and all the different things. They want to see pure competition, I believe, and that’s what this brings.”
Weir hopes that his underdog squad — the Internationals are 1-12-1 in 14 editions of the Presidents Cup — can give the fans reason to roar at Royal Montreal.
And a couple weeks later, he’ll be settling into his seat at Delta Center, thrilled to finally be able to watch NHL hockey so close to home.
So what sort of fan is Weir?
Is he a golf-clap guy?
Or will he be standing and screaming after a thunderous hit or a timely goal?
“When it gets to playoff time, I probably will be,” he grinned. “I’m really excited about it.”