Mike Weir continued his stellar play on Saturday at the Mercedes-Benz Championship by shooting a 5-under 68, giving him a one stroke lead over first round leader Nick Watney. Weir, who admitted that he did not practice much during the off-season, fired 
a bogey free round on Saturday, extending his streak without one to 27 holes. "I didn’t get a chance to do a whole lot of work in the off-season," said Weir after his round. "I think maybe coming in with not too high expectations, I just came out here to work on my game a little bit, and things have been clicking probably a little better than I expected. It’s feeling pretty good right now." Weir will tee off in the final group with Nick Watney at 5:50 ET.
Mik
e Weir has been working hard for nine months with instructors Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett on a new swing, the Stack and Tilt. Up until three weeks ago, he had seen fellow PGA Tour golfers like Aaron Baddeley benefit from the swing change, but Weir was still looking for his moment. Yesterday, Weir capped off an amazing three-week stretch, winning the Fry's Electronics Open by one stroke over Australian Mark Hensby. The win is Weir's first tour title since the 2004 Nissan Open. Three weeks earlier, Weir defeated Tiger Woods in a head-to-head match at the President's Cup, and last week, the Canadian had a top-10 finish at the Frys.com Open. Weir told Steve Sands of The Golf Channel, "Unbelievable. I can't put it into words. It's been a long time coming, three and a half years. I put a lot of hard work in."
Mike Weir dazzled fans in Canada earlier today by defeating the world's number one golfer
, Tiger Woods, head-to-head. Weir was 3-up as both players approached the par-4 11th, but by the 16th hole, Woods had won four of the last five holes to go 1-up. Nevertheless, Weir birdied the par-3 17th to even the match, and capitalized on a wayward tee shot that Woods hit in the hazard on the 18th hole to win the match. "It was a special week for me, but I’m a little down as well. This is the fourth team I have been on, and we haven’t won yet," said Weir to Inga Hammond of The Golf Channel after his round. Weir added, "To play in front of your home fans like this and to have this kind of support, I’ll remember this for the rest of my life. It’s an incredible feeling."
Prior to the President's Cup, it was uncertain whether or not International team captain Gary Player would select Mike Weir as a captain's pick. Even after Weir was selected, critics questioned why other players like Andres Romero or Stephen Ames, a Canadian who was ranked higher in the President's Cup standings, weren't selected for the team. But in the last three days, Weir has shown why he was worthy of the pick. Kraig Kann said on the Sprint Post Game, "He has earned his keep, earned his spot. He lobbied for this thing to be in Canada. He’s proving he deserved to be there all along." Weir is tied for the team lead with Vijay Singh for the most points earned.
Finally, after much debate and speculation from the media, Gary Player announced earlier today that he would select Canadian Mike Weir as a captain's pick for the President's Cup. Weir, who is the Tiger Woods of Canada, was ranked 20th in the President's Cup standings prior to the decision. In addition to Weir's selection, Gary Player also announced that Nick O'Hern, a lefty who has beaten Tiger Woods twice before in match play, would make the International team. This year's President's Cup will be played in Canada for the first time at Royal Montreal.
