Mike Weir shots pedestrian 85 in round 2 @ Honda; loses exempt status on PGA Tour

Mike Weir shots pedestrian 85 in round 2 @ Honda; loses exempt status on PGA Tour

Everyone could see it coming, but when it finally arrived on Friday, it was still hard to believe Mike Weir had fallen so far, so fast.

Just eight years ago, the wiry left-hander from Bright's Grove, Ont., was on top of the world, the winner of one of golf's most prestigious tournaments, the Masters, perhaps the single greatest achievement by a Canadian golfer in history. He went on to win two other tournaments that year, as well as others in 2004 and 2007 for a career total of eight.

On Friday, however, Weir lost his free ride on the PGA Tour when he failed to make the cut at the Honda Classic, ending his full-time exempt status.

The 40-year-old had struggled through two rounds at the Classic, including an opening day 7-over 77 on Thursday, then a horrendous mistake-filled 15-over 85 in Friday's second round. His 22-over total through 36 holes left him in last place for the tournament.

Weir left quickly after the tournament and was not available for comment. A spokesman said he might have something to say about his future in the coming days.

Weir landed in this predicament for a combination of reasons, but primarily because an injury-plagued and injury-shortened season caused him to drop outside the Top 125 on the PGA Tour's money list in 2010. That was the cutoff for the right to play full-time on the tour this year.

As a result of a torn ligament in his elbow, he was granted a medical exemption from having to requalify for the tour last fall. That exemption also gave him the right to play up to five events this year.

The catch was that he had to earn about $225,000, which, when added to his 2010 earnings of $559,000, would give him the equivalent of 125th place on last year's list.

Unfortunately for Weir, his game hasn't been nearly up to par. He missed the cut four times in those five starts, and the only time he made the cut, he was tied for 77th and earned just $10,788 in prize money. That's pretty good for a tie for 77th, but it's a long way from $225,000.

He'll now have to rely on sponsor and other tournament exemptions to compete in tournaments. For example, as a former Masters winner, he has a life-time exemption to play in that major championship. He's also in the field for next week's event in Puerto Rico. There is also an exemption based on being in the Top 50 of the PGA's all-time money list -- Weir is 12th at nearly $27 million U.S. -- but it's one-time only.

All of this only underlines just how far he has slipped. Eight years ago when he won the Masters and two other PGA Tour titles, Weir was solidly in the Top 10 of the world rankings.

His spiral has been a long time in the works. Weir hasn't won on the PGA Tour since 2007 and has missed the cut more than 30 times since then.

His stats going into the Honda Clasic were telling, and pretty ugly: 184th on the PGA Tour in driving average at 265.4 yards; 182nd in driving accuracy; 172nd in greens-in-regulation; 139th in putting average; 182nd in scoring average at 73.8.

Meanwhile, Calgary's Stephen Ames shot a two-over 72 on Friday and is tied for 52nd place at the Honda Classic with 5-over 145. American Kyle Stanley is in top spot after shooting a 4-under 66 Friday. His two-day total is 6-under 134.