GOLF

Mike Weir to take break, miss Canadian Open

Jul 17, 2015, 1:36 PM

n FILE – In this July 23, 2014, file photo, Canada’s Mike Weir tees off during the pro-...

FILE - In this July 23, 2014, file photo, Canada's Mike Weir tees off during the pro-am event at the Canadian Open golf championship in Montreal. Former Masters champion Mike Weir is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the PGA Tour and will skip the RBC Canadian Open next week. Weir said only that he wants to focus on his personal life and his two daughters. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz, File)n

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz, File)

OAKVILLE, Ontario (AP) — Former Masters champion Mike Weir is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the PGA Tour and will skip the RBC Canadian Open next week.

Weir said only that he wants to focus on his personal life. He is divorced from his wife, and they have two teenage daughters.

“Mike has recently endured some difficult times in his personal life,” his agent, Danny Fritz, said in an email to The Canadian Press. “With everything that has been going on away from the golf course, Mike’s golf game has been impacted as a result.”

The 45-year-old Canadian has been in a slump since 2009, the last time he played in the Tour Championship. Weir has not won in eight years and has plunged to No. 488 in the world ranking.

“Family is incredibly important to me,” Weir said in a statement. “I love the game and will return when the time is right.”

Weir has never won the Canadian Open. His best finish was in 2004, when he lost in a playoff to Vijay Singh at Glen Abbey.

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