Jamie Nye: A Masters to remember

Yes, I was watching old Masters tournaments this weekend. But the Masters that hits home for me ended 17 years ago today.

Mike Weir, the Canadian lefty, beats Len Mattiace in a playoff after Mattiace blew it on the 10th hole. Weir only needed bogey to win and with it became the first Canadian to win a major championship.

For me, it sits right there with Donovan Bailey’s gold medal sprint at the ’96 Atlanta Olympics or the Jays World Series or Bianca Andreescu’s US Open title as top sports moments I’ve watched that don’t include a puck or a football.

You look at Weir’s success and fast forward a generation later and this year’s Masters was to have the most Canadians ever in the field.

Weir as a past champ, joined by Corey Conners, Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor. Mackenzie Hughes, Graham DeLaet and David Hearn have also created noise on tour in the last five years.

When you talk about impact on a sport, Weir’s win was massive for Canadian golf. But remember, it’s not just the men. Five-year-old Brooke Henderson remembers Weir’s win just as fondly as the rest of us.