Weir misses 17th straight cut with final-hole triple

• By Ryan Lavner
• Jan 19, 2013 8:14 PM ET

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Mike Weir was 465 yards from ending his maddening streak of consecutive missed cuts. 

Needing a par on the par-4 ninth hole on the Palmer Course at PGA West, the Canadian left-hander instead found the water twice – off the tee, then with his approach – and took a triple-bogey 7, ending his bid to play the weekend at a PGA Tour event for the first time since July 2011. He left the scoring area without speaking to reporters.

The final hole is what observers will remember most, but Weir’s bid to make it to Sunday was derailed earlier. His second-round 75 at the Nicklaus Course – generally considered the easiest of the three courses in the rotation – spoiled what had been an encouraging start, a 67 at La Quinta.

But Weir rebounded Saturday with an opening 30 and three more birdies on Nos. 1, 2 and 4. He bogeyed the fifth to fall on the cut line, at 10 under, then made triple on his final hole.

Now “90 percent” healthy after suffering a partial tear in his elbow in 2010, Weir is finally able to practice regularly. The 2003 Masters champion even arrived in Hawaii two weeks before the start of the Sony Open to work on his game.

“I haven’t even made it to the slopes once this year, and it’s right in my backyard,” the Sandy, Utah, resident said earlier this week.

Weir’s early exit at the Humana, however, ran his streak of consecutive events played without a made cut to 17, dating to the 2011 AT&T National. It’s been even longer since he recorded a top 10 – a solo sixth here in 2010.

“It’s tough to play poorly when you know that you can still compete,” he said earlier this week. “It just shows you, you can’t compete 50 percent out here, especially a player of my length. I have to be more of a precision player, and when you’re playing 50 percent, it’s nearly impossible. I tried to do it, but I’m glad that I’m over that hump and ready to play some good golf now.”