You forget your first time at most major life moments. For Mike Weir, as a golfer, that major event came in 1989 when, as an amateur, he played in his first RBC Canadian Open. While playing at college in the U.S., Weir returned to Ontario to try to play his way into his national open. He ended up in a playoff with journeymen Webb Heintzelman and Guy Boros. “I made a birdie early and got a spot,” Weir said. That was 35 years ago when Weir was 20. He’s now 55, with a Masters green jacket to go along with seven other PGA Tour wins, as well as a PGA Tour Champions victory. He’s also playing in the Canadian Open for the 32nd time, tying a record held by Canadian golf legend George Cumming.
Not that Weir’s first Canadian Open went the way he expected.
“I teed off on the old No. 1 hole at Glen Abbey, which was a little par-4 with a slight dogleg right,” says Weir, who is a Golf Town Ambassador. “That hole had some tents down the right-hand side, and I proceeded to snap hook one right into the bleachers on my first Canadian Open tee shot, and went on to shoot 80 that first round.”
Now, with decades of experience at the tournament, Weir reflects on some of his favourite memories of playing at Canada’s most notable golf event.
1989—The first
Weir’s first Canadian Open was the tale of two rounds. In the first he shot 80, while in the second round he shot 71 with an incredible nine birdies. “It was the craziest round—chipping in, making birdies, and then I followed up with a double and a bogey, and then make three birdies in a row and then make another double. It was crazy.”
But there was a great takeaway from the experience, one that the young amateur golfer who use to build on. “I remember thinking, ‘Man, I made nine birdies on a PGA Tour course.’ You know as bad as I was—and I missed the cup by a mile—I just thought, okay, I need to clean things up, but I could play out there.”
1992—Professional golf
It would be three years before Weir made his second appearance at the RBC Canadian Open. This time he was a professional, having finished college and trying to find his way forward in tour golf. When he arrived at the range at Glen Abbey to practice, he couldn’t find a spot, and ended up beside Nick Price, who had won the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open that year.
“I was kind of a little bit intimidated to go hit balls, but there was the only spot open, literally the only spot open,” Weir says. “I set my golf balls down. I said, hello. And Nick was, you know, doing some work and just the sound of the ball coming off was just amazing.”
Weir wasn’t hitting the ball nearly as well. “There was an ‘a-ha’ moment where I’m thinking I’m a pro, he’s a pro, but we’re two different levels of pros. Like for me, to me, to get to that level is like, I’ve got some work to do. I remember just thinking to myself, the sound of that ball coming off those irons was just different. And I just thought, ‘Man, this guy could beat me nine times out of 10. I might short game him to death one round, but you know, for all purposes, this, this, I’ve got no chance. I remember thinking I’ve got to get to work and figure out how to hit the ball like that. And that led me to the journey with coaches to hit the ball better.”
1998—PGA Tour winner
In 1998, Weir came the Canadian Open as something new—a winner on the PGA Tour. He took the Greater Vancouver Open in dramatic fashion for his first win on the PGA Tour and started understanding the attention Canadian PGA Tour pros received at their national open. After all, a Canadian hadn’t won since 1954 when Pat Fletcher recorded a victory at Point Grey Golf and Country Club. “I remember going to [Glen Abbey] and I was a bit overwhelmed, and everyone was clamouring for my time,” Weir says. “I remember just trying to be ready for that tournament too, but feeling, man, this, you know, I remember feeling more pressure that next week. And, of course, I missed the cut.”
2004—Near miss

Weir’s win at the 2003 Masters generated even more attention, with Canadians wondering when he would be the one to break the curse of Fletcher. No one can say Weir didn’t try. He went into the final round at Glen Abbey in the last group, after shooting opening rounds of 65-68-70 to put himself in a great spot. But some stumbles coming in—and a nasty three-putt on the 16th hole—left him tied with Vijay Singh in a playoff.
“There was a Canadian euphoria around that,” Weir says. “it was like a hockey atmosphere that day and I had a chance to win. The fans were incredible from the very first tee. Just, it was just raucous, you know, it was hard to keep the energy down enough to be able to execute your shots. Ultimately, I didn’t, didn’t do it as well as I did maybe at the masters and some other tournaments. I mean for the Canadian guys during the [Canadian Open] week, it’s just harder.”
2011—Challenges

At Shaughnessy in Vancouver, it was an injury that kept Weir from the weekend. He’d already hurt himself earlier in the year and caught a tree root on the back nine on Friday. That led to surgery and a few years of struggling with injuries. Throughout it all, with the exception of 2015 when he was hurt, Weir continued to show up every year in Canada for the tournament. “I’m a proud Canadian and it’s our national open,” he says. “You know, I want to play well, I know the fans are supporting me. I want to show up for them and fight for them. Those early days of struggling until I got to 1997 or 1998 is always in the back of my mind—that I found a way then I can find a way now.”
2023—Taylor’s time

In the first RBC Canadian Open after the pandemic, Weir showed up at an unfamiliar course—in this case Oakdale Golf and Country Club in north Toronto—and made the cut. No longer a PGA Tour regular—he’d turned 50 and was playing on PGA Tour Champions—Weir battled around a long, tough course and finished in a tie for 52nd. That meant he returned to the course on Sunday to watch Nick Taylor become the first Canadian to win since 1954.
2025—Records

Weir will tie the record for the most Canadian Open appearances by a Canadian this year when he tees it up at TPC Toronto/Osprey Valley for his 32nd shot at his national open. But even at 55, he’s not given up hope of being competitive. “I truly feel deep down when I’m playing well, I can compete and I think I can contend,” he says. “There’s no reason why I can’t, you know? Tom Watson almost won the British at 60 years old. Ben Hogan in his sixties was leading through three rounds at the Masters. It is one event that’s still high on my priority list, so I’m trying to do everything I can to be, to be sharp for it.”