With as far as Mike Weir has fallen in recent years, a return to form likely won’t be an overnight process. After another promising round Friday at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am though, the Canadian continues to offer evidence that he may be on the comeback trail.
With a 5-under 65 in the second round at Monterey Peninsula, Weir moved up a whopping 86 spots on the leaderboard, and heads to Spyglass Hill for his third round Saturday in a tie for 39th at 2 under, six shots off the lead. It marked the lowest round for the former Masters champ since the 2010 Honda Classic, and tied James Hahn for the lowest round on any of the three courses Friday.
After failing to break 70 in a stroke-play round last year, Weir has now shot 67 or better in four of his 13 rounds of the young 2013 season. He broke an 18-event missed cut streak at the Farmers Insurance Open last month, where he finished tied for 68th, and now is in position for potentially his second made cut in his last three starts.
Weir’s relative success thus far in 2013 can largely be traced back to better putter. After falling outside the top 100 on Tour each of the last three years in strokes gained putting, the diminutive Canadian now ranks 48th in the category thus far this season. Still, the road back to relevance for the 8-time PGA Tour winner remains an uphill one - Weir is still in search of his first top-50 finish on Tour since the 2010 Crowne Plaza Invitational.