Weir Getting Over Riviera Snub. Can The Rest Of Us?

As he’s known to do, Mike Weir is treating his perceived snub by the Northern Trust Open with tact and diplomacy, but those who peer through Canadian eyes can’t seem to say enough to get the point across that the two-time tournament champ should be in this week’s field.

The interesting one was RBC Canadian Open tournament director Bill Paul who expressed to Lorne Rubenstein last week his dismay that Weir wasn’t included in the competition that gets underway Thursday at Riviera.

Paul knows only too well the heat that tournament officials can take over exemptions and those who don’t get their ticket in, so good on him for speaking his mind on the subject instead of giving into the temptation of being politically correct.

At least, Paul’s statement came just after we got the official word about Weir’s exclusion, but the outrage continues on … and on and on.

ScoreGolf’s Bob Weeks is at Riviera this week and is apparently on a mission to find out the tournament’s take on this, but as of this writing, hasn’t been successful in that quest.

Chances are that the best Weeks will accomplish is to get yet another canned comment on how the Northern Trust Open wishes Mike Weir all the best. Other bleating bloggers and Tweeters rage against the machine as well, but the fact is that outside Canadian borders, the Weir story isn’t even on the radar.

Weir will now play at next week’s Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico, an event opposite the Accenture Match Play Championship, a World Golf Championships tournament that draws the big boys, leaving the field in Mexico a much more likely place than Riviera for Weir to continue his comeback

What Weir’s defenders see in their criticism of the Northern Trust Open is the writing on the wall for the rest of this season. If the Northern Trust Open doesn’t have a spot for Weir, what about events down the road that don’t have any allegiance, if any at all, to him?

What they will see is that Weir’s return at Pebble Beach ended in his 12th missed cut in his last 16 tournaments and those numbers don’t mention injury, elbow surgery or recovery time.

“What have you done for me lately?” is the overriding sentiment among events, especially as the PGA Tour talent pool deepens. Factor that in with various sponsor preferences and pickings could be slim for Weir if he stumbles out of the gate as he did at Pebble Beach.

With all the hooting and hollering going on around him, Weir is taking the correct approach, which is consistent with the way he’s conducted himself over the course of his career. While those around him have lost their heads, Weir has kept his and carries on professionally.

There’s little doubt that Weir was disappointed and perhaps even ticked off, but he took the high road. For all the bitching that has gone on, what will it accomplish?

There’s a job to be done and Weir had all of his recovery time after his surgery to contemplate it. Things won’t come easy, but he doesn’t need such distractions.

What will stop such incidents in the future is a fast start. Numbers have a way of talking louder than words when it comes to getting into tournaments and Weir will deal with that himself. He doesn’t need anybody else’s help.

He’s moving on and it’s time for everybody else to get a grip, as well.

Get over it.