Mike Weir: A second at the Byron Nelson, but a win in his heart

Officially, Mike Weir finished second at the PGA Byron Nelson Championship on Sunday. But in his heart, there's no denying that this was a victory.

In the world that Mike Weir has inhabited for the past five years, this was the equivalent of winning all four majors in one season, then capping it off by leading his side to victory at the Presidents' Cup.

Okay, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement. But Weir sent a message loud and clear to the world of golf on the weekend that stated in bold letters: I have returned.

The best golfer ever to come out of Canada is back from almost seven years in the wilderness, a dark time that saw him miss 36 of 39 cuts at one point and drop to the nether regions of the world rankings. He entered this weekend's tournament ranked 609 in the world, an incredibly painful statistic for a guy who was once ranked third.

He hasn't won a tournament since 2007 and hadn't finished in the top three since 2009. Making cuts, not riding atop leader boards, was his biggest challenge.

Trying desperately to recover from a torn elbow ligament, he had pretty much become an afterthought on the tour. Approaching 44, he was written off by many as a has-been.

But after giving golf fans a few glimpses of the old Mike Weir during this spring's Masters, the native of Brights Grove, Ont., put all of his skills on display this weekend. He shot 68-66-67-67 to finish second, two strokes behind winner Brendon Todd, and take home $745,000 U.S.

"Best golf I played in a long time," Weir said afterward. "I was happy with the way I played. I was definitely determined to try to win today, but I can feel good about the way I handled things out there."

He certainly handled things in admirable fashion.

In a duel of guys fighting to overcome recent woes -- Todd was on the Web.com tour until three years ago and was looking for his first PGA win -- Weir never blinked. Though he put up three bogeys in the final round, he lost more because Todd simply refused to make a mistake.

The 28-year-old American recorded a clean round in recording a 66, and pulled off a couple of amazing shots to keep the lead. The most amazing came on the 13th when he hit a backwards shot from beside a tree to save par.

But Weir had his great moments, too.

Starting the day one stroke behind co-leaders Todd and Louis Oosthuizen, he took control of things early and birdied four of the first five holes. His best shot came on the 195-yard par-3 second when his tee shot lipped out, depriving him of a hole-in-one. After landing in a fairway bunker on the fourth, he recovered by landing his 167-yard shot within two feet of the hole and tapped in for a birdie.

Those birdies allowed him to take the lead and at one point he was ahead by two strokes. But a bogey by Weir at the sixth and a 14-foot birdie putt by Todd on the fifth created a tie for first.

Todd took the lead for good with consecutive birdies on the ninth and tenth.

Weir bogeyed the 15th after botching a chip shot and fell three behind. But he got within two of Todd with a birdie on the 16th.

He had a chance to get within one on the par-3 17th, but his eight-foot birdie putt just missed. When Todd saved par with a 15-foot putt on 17, that pretty much secured his first tour victory.

During the 2014 season, Weir has made the cut in only six of 18 starts and earned less than $100,000. But his weekend performance has put him inside the top 125 on the money list.

Weir is using his final exemption, based on PGA Tour career earnings, in 2014. Sunday’s breakthrough should enable him to play a full schedule next season.

While it was a great day for Weir, his Canadian counterpart didn't fare quite as well.

Graham DeLaet shot an even-par 70 in his final round, finishing the tournament eight under and in a tie for seventh place. He started the day two strokes off the lead.