Weir eager to end 54-year Canadian Open drought

By Steve Keating TORONTO (Reuters) - After battling punishing conditions at the British Open, Canadians Mike Weir and Stephen Ames face another daunting challenge in trying to end a 54-year drought for home players at the Canadian Open. No Canadian has claimed the national championship since Pat Fletcher in 1954, leaving Weir, Ames and 17 other Canadian contenders trying to wrestle the title away from back-to-back winner Jim Furyk at the Glen Abbey golf course starting on Thursday. Weir, the 2003 Masters champion, came tantalizingly close to ending the dry spell the last time the Canadian Open was staged on the par 71, 7,273-yard Jack Nicklaus designed layout in 2004 but came up just short after losing to Fiji's Vijay Singh in a playoff. "I remember (in 2004) that everybody was very excited," Weir told reporters. "I was in... [read full story]