Canadians On Tour -- Mike Weir Knocking On The Door

Former Masters Champion Mike Weir may be warming up at just the right time---two weeks before the U.S. Open. The native of Sarnia, ON produced his first Top10 finish in six months at the Memorial Sunday when he finished at (71-72-68-71---282) 6-under par and tied with three others for second place, two shots shy of champion Kenny Parry. Winning $396,000 boosts Weir up to $1,179,622 for the season.
John Mills' 4-under 68 was Sunday's lowest round, but it could have been much lower. He missed just one fairway and one green and never was in danger of a bogey. "It was as stress-free a round as you could get," said Mills, who played college golf close by at Kent State University, near Akron. "You don't get many of those, especially on a golf course set up this hard." Mills T26th and came away with $45,600.

Next up is the Stanford St. Jude Championship in Memphis followed June 12th by a visit to Torrey Pines in San Diego where Tiger Woods will greet the TOUR for the playing of the U.S. Open.

Playing the Ginn Tribute hosted by Annika in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, Seon Hwa Lee won the title with a hot come-from-behind final round of 5-under par 67, then went on to defeat Karrie Webb with a par on their first extra hole, collecting a cheque worth $390,000, which boosts Lee into 4th place on the season's money list.

Lorie Kane got it to 6-under through 36 holes but a pair of 75's on the weekend did nothing for the cause and left her tied for 54th at even par 288 worth $7,410. After undergoing knee surgery earlier this spring it's possible Dawn Coe-Jones may have come back too soon. The darling of Campbell River, BC shot 83-79 and finished dead last in her first outing in over two months. Alena Sharp also missed the cut.

Next week the Tour heads to Maryland for the $2 million McDonald's LPGA Championship.

Jay Haas posted a final round of 6-under 65 to slip past runner-up Andy Bean, second round leader Nick Price and Joey Sindelar, moving up 7 positions and registering a 19-under par one shot victory in the Principal Charity Classic in West Des Moines, Iowa. There were no Canadians in the field.

With his third payday in the last four tournaments Jim Rutledge of Victoria is beginning to shoot the kinds of scores that make money on the nationwide tour. The 48-year-old PGA veteran T31st in the Bank of America Open, going (69-72-70-69 280) 8-under par for the second time in three weeks and earning $4,650. Rutledge may have been 8-strokes behind champion Kris Banks but he's in a grove for the first time this season and not too late to mount a charge up the money list.

Ian Leggatt shot a closing 69 to move up 11 spots and finish T40th at 6-under par and David Morland IV T52nd at 3-under. Missing the cut were Bryan DeCorso and David Hearn

Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, BC broke into the top 20 in the Aurora Health Care Championship in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin by finishing (73-73-75--221) T19, eight shots behind winner Mindy Kim of Diamond Bar, Cali. Kim earned $14,000 for her performance while Richdale pocketed $855. Oakkville, ON's Jessica Shepley T27 at 222 ($774) while Cindy Pasechnik of Calgary, ( 75-76-73�224) and Angela Buzminski of Oshawa, ON T40 (72-77-75--224) each collected $682. Eom Ji Park of Vancouver was cut.

The Canadian Tour's Spring Qualifying School tees off this week at Swan-e-set Bay & Resort in Pitt Meadows, BC, the home of James Lepp's historic inaugural pro victory in 2003 while still an amateur at University of Washington. Next week the Tour begins it's Canadian campaign in Victoria at the Time Colonist Open.

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In Stratford, ON National Junior Team members Mathieu Rivard of Granby, PQ and Brittany Henderson of Smith Falls, ON captured their respective boy's and girl's divisions at the CN Future Links Ontario Championship. Justin Shin of Maple Ridge, BC started and ended well (68-73-68-209) and finished up in second place, three shots behind Rivard. Ten strokes off the pace was Langley, BC's Thomas Hay while Riley Wheeldon of Courtenay, BC T17 at (72-72-75-219) at 9-over par in the field of 63 junior boys