GOLF
Fresh-faced Weir ties record
No beard, no trouble for Deutsche leader
NORTON, Mass. — Mike Weir shaved his “playoff beard” when his wife and children flew into town this week, but that had no bearing on his golf Friday. This was a round to enjoy, not explain.
Determined to get off to a better start, Weir birdied the first four holes and one-putted his final nine greens in the Deutsche Bank Championship to tie the course record at TPC Boston with a 10-under 61, the lowest round of his PGA Tour career.
Weir had a three-shot lead over a group of four players that included Vijay Singh, whose victory last week at the Barclays put him atop the standings in the PGA Tour playoffs for the FedEx Cup.
Singh previously had the TPC Boston course record to himself, a 61 in the third round two years ago. And the Fijian set the tone for a day of low scores when he ran off five birdies in a six-hole stretch for a 64.
It took Weir only 10 holes to catch him.
“There was no indication on the putting green when I was warming up that was going to tell me it was going to be like that,” Weir said. “It just felt normal. Just one of those days where I made about a 15-footer on the first hole, another on the second hole. . . . I just kind of built on that momentum.
“I just tried to keep the pedal down, because I knew the scores were pretty low.”
Even so, Weir never saw a 61 coming. In his 20 previous stroke-play events this year, he had shot in the 60s in the opening round only one time, at the Canadian Open.
“It’s been kind of my goal the last moth or so to get off to better starts in tournaments,” he said. “It seems like I’ve been having to come from behind. I’ve just put it in my [mind] to try to get off to a better start. Obviously, this was way exceeding my expectations.”
John Merrick, Heath Slocum and Briny Baird joined Singh at 64, while Ben Curtis, Ernie Els and Jim Furyk were in a large group another stroke back. More than half of the 115-man field shot in the 60s, and only 23 players failed to break par.
Phil Mickelson, the defending champion, suffered through a familiar malaise. He hit the ball fine, but 31 putts kept him in the middle of the pack at 69.
British Open and PGA champion Padraig Harrington shot a 4-over 75 and is a candidate to miss the cut for the second straight week.
