Hour-long birdie has Weir six shots back

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This article was published 26/07/2009 (6212 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OAKVILLE, Ont. — Mike Weir gave new meaning to the term “long birdie” on Saturday by taking the better part of an hour to sign his scorecard after completing his second round at the 2009 Canadian Open.

The Bright’s Grove, Ont. native’s ball moved before he could take a second shot on the par 5 18th hole, prompting a lengthy discussion whether he counted a birdie or a penalty-stroke-inflated par.

“Probably the longest signature I’ve had to wait for,” said Weir after being given the birdie to knock his second round score to 6-under 66. “But you know, I wanted to make sure we did it right.”

The final birdie left Weir at 7-under after two rounds, tied with Stephen Ames for low Canadian and six shots behind leader Jason Dufner’s score of 13-under par.

Weir actually had to leave the scorer’s hut with a rules official and head to a trailer to examine the video replay that determined if he earned a penalty by addressing the ball before it moved.

“The great thing about the trailer is you can slo-mo everything down, watch it 100 times,” said Weir. “Tour staff and myself determined the ball moved halfway back in my waggle. You could see that clearly.

“In my routine I don’t ground the club, I was just kind going through and seeing if anything else I did caused it to move,” added Weir. “Whether I stood too close, whatever.”

Weir ended up finishing the final hole not knowing if he would incur a penalty stroke.

“After that, I just said ‘Okay, I’ve got to gather myself and hit a good shot,'” he said.

— Canwest News Service