Struggling with injuries and the fallout from a divorce, Canadian golf star Mike Weir announced today that he was stepping away from the game indefinitely.
Weir, 45, was expected to play in next week’s RBC Canadian Open. It would have been the golfer’s 25th appearance in the tournament, which is being held at Glen Abbey Golf Club, site of Weir’s near-miss in 2004 when he lost in a playoff to Vijay Singh.
“Family is incredibly important to me and I have decided to take some time to focus on my personal life and children,” Weir said in a statement issued on Twitter.
Weir split with his wife, Bricia, last year, and the golfer has custody of his two teenage daughters. Weir met his ex-wife in college when he was attending Brigham Young University and the couple lived in Utah since the golfer turned pro in 1992.
The news is the latest in a problematic season for Weir, who had not made a cut in a PGA Tour event since last November. He withdrew from the John Deere Classic last week citing personal reasons and withdrew from two other tournaments earlier this year because of injuries.
Weir, once one of the game’s biggest stars and the winner of eight tournaments including the 2003 Masters, has struggled with injuries since the 2011 Canadian Open. He had surgery on his elbow that year and his game has never recovered, though he nearly won the HP Byron Nelson last year, coming in second.
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Generally regarded as the greatest professional golfer Canada has produced, Weir said he had no timeline for returning to the sport.
Weir admitted last year that he’s struggled on and off the course.
“No doubt about it, I was down,” Weir said last year. “There were plenty of times I was very down and maybe wondering what I was going to do next. You start to question if you want to keep doing this. Especially, you know, I have two young daughters that are teenagers now and being away from home gets harder. If you’re playing good golf that’s one thing, but if you’re playing bad golf and missing cuts that’s another thing.”
There’s no timeline for a return to the game, Weir said. The golfer has used both of his all-time money exemptions, meaning he would likely have to return to qualifying school for the first time since 1998. He could also ask for exemptions into tournaments, and would likely be able to play an abbreviated schedule.
However, given his age, lack of success in recent years and personal issues, questions will surely arise about retirement, at least until he turns 50 and is able to play on the Champions Tour.
But Weir’s agent, Danny Fritz, shot down any notion that the golfer might permanently step away from the game.
“You know him well enough to know he will be back,” Fritz said in an email.
Weir said he will be back—but didn’t say when.
“At this time though I know the focus needs to be on my family,” he said. “I look forward to teeing up again in front of Canada at our national open very soon.”
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