Why is Mike Weir a left-handed golfer? Because Jack Nicklaus told him to be himself

IVINS, Utah — Mike Weir will go down as one of the most successful left-handed players in the history of golf. He’s got 14 pro victories, a green jacket and a Presidents Cup captaincy all on his resume.

But truth be told, when he was growing up in a suburb of Sarnia, Ontario, which sits on the very southern tip of Lake Huron, Weir wasn’t originally sold on his southpaw style when it came to the game.

So a 13-year-old Weir penned a letter to the great Jack Nicklaus asking for advice on whether he should try to convert to a right-handed swing.

When asked during the leadup to this week’s inaugural Black Desert Championship, which is bringing the PGA Tour back to the state of Utah that Weir now calls home, the 2003 Masters champion said he took Nicklaus’ return message to heart.

Black Desert: Leaderboard | Photos

“I have no idea what would have happened. I was a natural left-hander,” said Weir, who played his college golf at BYU. “I wrote Jack when I was a kid and he said stick with your natural swing. 1983 when I wrote that letter, there was Bob Charles who had won the British Open. But Russ Cochran was on Tour and a guy named Ernie Gonzalez, but they were kind of middle-of-the-pack guys, good players. But the best players in the world were all right-handed, and I wrote Jack this letter, and he said, no, stick to your natural swing, so I did.”

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Weir cemented his legacy in the game by becoming the first lefty to ever win at Augusta, although Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson have since combined for five wins since the Canadian turned the trick. Weir has eight PGA Tour wins, tied for the most all-time.

But it might have all been different if not for the advice from the Golden Bear.

“If I switched to right-handed then —my dad was willing to do that, but when I got the letter back from Jack, it was, okay, we’re staying with it,” he said.

Would he have had the same success if he’d have switched?

“Who knows,” Weir said. “Probably not on Tour, I wouldn’t think.”

This has been an interesting time for Weir, whose best playing days are in the rearview mirror. But coming off his captaincy in the 2024 Presidents Cup in Montreal, Weir is still displaying the scrappy nature that would have him popping up on leaderboards. He’s yet to make a cut through his first three PGA Tour events this year before Black Desert, but he’s played well on the Champions circuit, posting four top-10 finishes.

“This last month or so has been a special time in golf for me. Two weeks ago at the Presidents Cup was something that was in the works for a long time and put a lot of energy into that for a couple years. Although we didn’t get over the line and win the event, it was still such a special week,” Weir said. “Just the response of all the fans to our team, our players, having three Canadians on the team was really special, having a lot of family there. It was just an incredible week for me. Then here we are two weeks later playing at home in a PGA Tour event in my home state. It’s pretty cool. I’m trying to soak it up.”

And while he’s still looking to get into the mix at the new event, Weir has found a happy place where he can enjoy his surroundings and enjoy the success of others. The event marks the PGA Tour’s first appearance in the Beehive State in 60 years. He’s playing the opening two rounds with Garrick Higgo and Troy Merritt.

“At this stage of my life, I’m still super competitive, but there’s a lot of guys I’m rooting for out here, too. And I love to watch them as a fan of golf and watch the evolution of the game,” he said. “The younger generation that I had a chance to play with yesterday and then to see some of the veteran guys that I know still playing, it’s really cool at this stage of life to still be kicking the golf ball around a little bit and trying hard at it.”