Riviera Is Right Up Weir’s Alley

Mike Weir on Saturday stretched his Nissan Open lead to a commanding, rain-drops-kept-falling, record-setting, five-shot cushion only to consider the clinical diagnosis of his feat:

Separation anxiety.

Weir, the defending champion whose compact swing has drawn wedge-lofty comparisons with Ben Hogan, shot a five-under 66 and stands 17 under par at 196 through three rounds at Riviera Country Club, breaking by one shot the 54-hole tournament record set by Fred Couples in 1990.

Weir couldn’t have fared better given the difficult conditions. Of the top 14 golfers who started play Saturday, Weir was five under par and the other 13 combined to shoot six over.

Shoot, Jesper Parnevik hydro-planed his way to an 83.

Weir enters today’s final round with the rain at his back and five strokes between him and Shigeki Maruyama, who shot even-par 71 for a 201 total.

Maruyama shared the 36-hole lead with Weir, but this wasn’t a day you wanted to tread water with a Canadian.

Weir, however, is 0 for 5 on tour when having at least a share of the 54-hole lead, a trend he hopes to end.

“I’ve got something to prove to myself,” Weir said. “I look at it as a big challenge to prove to myself I can handle leading by five shots like I am.”

Jeff Maggert is six shots off the pace at 202 after shooting 69, Scott McCarron is seven shots back at 203, and Stuart Appleby, Loren Roberts, Briny Baird and John Daly are eight shots behind at 204.

Daly, giving Tiger Woods a good run in terms of gallery support, was two shots back entering third-round play but probably slipped out of contention after shooting 72.

Woods also shot 72 despite making a long birdie putt on the par-four 18th, which he celebrated with a shoulder shrug.

Woods, who has never won this tournament and won’t this year, stands at three-under 210 through 54 holes, 14 shots off the pace and tied for 44th.

Woods declined to speak with reporters after his round.

“I’m taking a pass,” Woods said as he passed the media interview room.

Weir made his move on the field at No. 6, the classic bunker-on-the-green par-three, when a birdie coupled with Maruyama’s bogey on the same hole gave Weir a two-shot lead.

“That kind of got the momentum going on my side,” Weir said.

Weir stepped on the gas on the back nine, making four birdies en route to a 32.

He needed only 22 putts for the round and did not have a three-putt.

Weir: “My putter has just been on fire.”

The most serious challenger to Weir today may be the face staring back at him in the mirror.

He reminded the media that, once, he did take a four-shot lead into the final round of the Canadian Masters and won by eight.

But they aren’t paying out Canadian money here.

Weir also has a chance to make significant history at Riviera. The 72-hole course record is 20-under-par 264, established by Lanny Watkins in 1985.

Weir, at 17 under, needs to shoot 67 to eclipse that mark.

It would be quite an accomplishment on a course that has been teed up and tackled by the likes of Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Hogan, a three-time winner at Riviera.

Weir doesn’t mind the comparisons to Hogan, such a celebrated figure at Riviera that the course is known as “Hogan’s Alley.”

Weir, listed at 5 feet 9 and 155 pounds, is pint-sized compared to some of today’s long bombers. Hogan was also slight of build and relied on determination and precise ball-striking to win nine major championships.

Weir, with his lone Masters title, has not begun to approach Hogan’s greatness. Yet Hogan, much more than say, John Daly, is a golfer Weir can relate to.

“We do have very similar body types,” Weir said. “I studied his swing a lot. I think that’s the influence that maybe he has had, you know, maybe his dedication and determination.”

Yes, Weir is left-handed, but so was Hogan, a natural lefty who taught himself how to play golf right-handed.

So can anyone catch Weir today?

It’s possible if, with the expected torrent of rain, the course becomes a water park.

Maruyama is within shouting distance but seems already satisfied with his performance.

“It would be the victor’s score usually,” he said, through an interpreter, about being 12 under par. “... I never hit under par here before coming here. I’m pretty happy. Always the scoreboard is a black number.”

Maggert had four bogeys and still shot 69, thanks to six birdies.

“Mike shot a good score today,” Maggert said of Weir. “But certainly I’m making a lot of birdies and if I can kind of play a mistake-free round tomorrow and make five, six, seven birdies, I will certainly have a chance.”

Come rain or come shine.