Weir hangs on to defend Nissan title

Monday, Feb. 23, 2004 | 9:39 a.m.

SUN WIRE REPORTS

Mike Weir knows how to win. He just doesn't know how to win without drama.

After holding a seven-stroke lead with 15 holes to play, he was barely hanging on Sunday afternoon when he reached the final hole of the Nissan Open at Pacific Palisades, Calif. The lead was gone. Shigeki Maruyama had pulled even by playing brilliantly, and was on the verge of ruining Weir's goal of repeating as tournament champion.

Weir reacted the way one would expect from a reigning Masters champion. Hitting a brilliant chip shot to save par at No. 18, he held on for a one-stroke victory over Maruyama, who made his only bogey of the day on the final hole. It was Weir's seventh victory on the PGA Tour, but his first since capturing his green jacket at Augusta National Golf Club in April.

Weir finished at 17-under-par 267 after an even-par 71, ahead of Maruyama (67) and Stuart Appleby, who finished third after a 66, three strokes off the pace. John Daly continued his resurgence by finishing fourth (13 under), after winning the Buick Invitational a week earlier. Tiger Woods shot a final-round 64 and finished tied for seventh, but he has yet to win in six tournaments as a professional at Riviera Country Club, the only site he has played that often without a victory.

Weir has all but mastered Riviera. He is the tournament's sixth back-to-back winner, joining Mac Smith (1928-29), Ben Hogan (1947-48), Paul Harney (1964-65), Arnold Palmer (1966-67) and Corey Pavin (1994-95). It is the kind of company that Weir wants to keep, but with a five-stroke lead over Maruyama when the day began, he sweated for this victory more than he had planned.

"I've been out here seven years; I've seen pretty much every situation there is," said Weir, whose previous six victories were come-from-behind affairs. "When Shigeki birdied 16, I said, 'You got to love it.' If you said at the beginning of the week that we'd be tied on No. 17, I'd be happy with it. It wasn't maybe what I expected at the beginning of the day. But that's the reality right now, and I need to bear down."

It ended on the 465-yard No. 18, when Weir put on display one of the world's best short games. Maruyama and Weir missed the green with their approach shots at 18, but after Maruyama chipped his third shot 12 feet past the hole, Weir worked his short-game magic. Standing on a hill left of the green, about 45 feet from the pin, he sent a delicate chip shot onto the green, and the gallery roared as the ball landed softly and rolled directly toward the hole. The ball barely missed the cup and settled with in two feet.

PGA CHAMPIONS: Zimbabwe's Mark McNulty became the 11th player to win in his Champions Tour debut, shooting a 3-under-68 for a one-stroke victory in the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am at Lutz, Fla.

McNulty, a 16-time winner on the European tour, finished at 13-under 200 to hold off Larry Nelson. McNulty had twice postponed his tour debut because of a bout with shingles.

Fuzzy Zoeller made 11 birdies -- seven in a row -- and flirted with a 59 before shooting 61 after a bogey on the 18th. Zoeller tied for third with Tom Purtzer (68) at 11 under.

PGA NATIONWIDE: Australia's Euan Walters won the Jacob's Creek Open, closing with a 3-under 68 for a five-stroke victory at Kooyonga at Adelaide, Australia. Walters finished with a 9-under 275 total in the tournament co-sanctioned by the Nationwide and Australasian tours.

EUROPEAN PGA: Thongchai Jaidee became the first player from Thailand to win a European tour event, acing the 16th hole en route to a two-stroke victory against Australian's Brad Kennedy in the Malaysian Open at Kuala Lampur.