Brights Grove golfer Mike Weir is being inducted into the Canada' Sports Hall of Fame this year.
The 46-year-old lefty has 15 professional wins, and his eight on the PGA Tour ties him with the late George Knudson for the most by a Canadian. Weir became a national hero in 2003 when he became the first and still only Canadian to win a major, beating Len Mattiace in a playoff at the Masters.
Weir has nearly $28-million U.S. in career earnings and was the first Canadian to play in the Presidents Cup.
Mike's brother Jim says he's thrilled.
"I'm extremely proud of him, to be inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is a great honour," says Jim. "The other names going in with Mike are just some great sporting names too. It's just a really great honour and I couldn't be prouder of him."
He says the Huron Oaks Golf Club played a big part in Mike's success.
"There are a lot of great memories of growing up and playing golf at Huron Oaks," says Jim. "Steve Bennett really took Mike under his wing and taught him the game at an early age. They had a lot of great young players at Huron Oaks back in the day, including Dave McKinlay who is now Head Pro at Sawmill Creek. A lot of them have gone on to do really good things. Huron Oaks definitely has a soft spot in our family's hearts."
Jim says Mike helped revolutionize the game for left handed golfers.
"In Canada we're certainly seeing a lot more lefties, now at Huron Oaks every group has one or two lefties," says Jim. "There are more lefties in Canada than there are in other countries, with our hockey background. I think Mike kind of set the stage for that , starting way back when being one of the only lefties on the PGA Tour at one time."
Other inductees into the Canada's Sports Hall of Fame include Olympic triathlete Simon Whitfield, NHLer Lanny McDonald, lacrosse player Gaylord Powless, speed skater Cindy Klassen and wrestler Carol Huynh.
-With files from Dave Dentinger