Master of the Crowd By Kyle McRae
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U.S. Amateur Runner-Up Michael Weaver Looks Forward to Playing at Augusta
ll eyes will be on Michael Weaver when he steps to the first tee at Augusta in April one day before his 22nd birthday. Weaver, who will become the first person to ever play in the Masters while currently a Cal golfer, became accustomed to the feeling at an early age as a kid hanging out with a sea of professional adults at Fort Washington Golf and Country Club in his hometown of Fresno. It was the summer of 2001 and the then-10-year-old son of Bill and Joanne Weaver was spending much of his time attending a local church camp, but there was a problem. In order to go on the cov-
eted field trips, campers had to arrive by 8 a.m. sharp, or they would miss the bus and be at church all day. “One night at dinner he was complaining about having to get up so early to go to church camp,” Bill recalled. “I said ‘I’ll tell you what, you can either go to church camp at 8 a.m., or you can sleep in and 8
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mom can drop you off at the club when she goes to work around 9:30 or 10 and pick you up when she gets off work in the middle of the afternoon.’ Michael said ‘fine, I’ll go to the golf course’ with obvious displeasure on his face.” But it wasn’t long before Weaver, now a junior for the Golden Bears, was more than happy to be at the golf course, putting in full days hitting a countless number of balls on the driving range, practicing his chipping and putting, coming in briefly to eat lunch, and then going back out to do it all over again in the afternoon Central Valley heat that often eclipsed 100 degrees. “I was beyond blisters,” Weaver quipped. In addition to honing his skills as a young golfer, Weaver was learning how to handle himself around adults, and it also made him a well-known entity around the club. “It’s almost comical,” Bill said with a laugh. “I have people coming up to me all the time saying you’re Michael Weaver’s dad. I like joking with them by saying no, Michael Weaver is my son. Michael is known and well-liked by literally everybody at our club. They have nothing but compliments for him all the time. We are obviously very proud of him.” The experience Weaver gained at a young age has also served him well on the golf course. After a standout junior career, Weaver is now one of the nation’s best collegiate players on the top-ranked Cal men’s golf team that won eight of its first nine tournaments in 2012-13. Weaver has posted a career-best 71.6 stroke average in his first season back in the lineup after redshirting in 2011-12 to successfully gain admission into the Haas School of Business. He earned honorable mention All-American honors as a sophomore in 2010-11 and had the highest individual finish ever by a
Cal player at the NCAA Championship when he placed eighth that season. As a freshman, he became the first Cal player to finish in the top 10 at both the Pac10/12 Championship (sixth) and NCAA Regional (eighth). But Weaver’s biggest golf achievement to date came last August when his runner-up finish at the U.S. Amateur earned him an invitation to the Masters and an exemption for the U.S. Open this year. Weaver admits that it did not sink in that he would be playing at the Masters until a trip to Augusta this past January to play five practice rounds at the famed course. “Getting to play in the Masters at all would be pretty special, but playing it as an amateur means a lot because there’s only six guys that make it in each year as amateurs,” Weaver said. “It’s something a lot of people won’t ever get to do. I realize that, and I feel pretty fortunate that I get to do it.” Both Weaver and Cal golf coach Steve Desimone know he’ll have a few nerves when he steps up to that first tee. “You can’t help but be nervous in that situation,” Desimone said. “The other thing that you can’t help is wondering if you really belong there. When he’s on the driving range, and he’s got Tiger and Phil and Rory all around, yeah, you better believe he’s going to have stars in his eyes. You can read about it and watch it on television all you want, but until you are actually there in that locker room, on that driving range and on those tees with the guys you’ve watched and idolized forever you can’t even begin to understand the emotions you’ll go through.” “I know when I tee off that first day there will be a lot of people around and it will be a pretty emotional deal,” Weaver said. “I don’t get nervous very often, but I’ll be nervous.” Sure he’ll be nervous, emotional and in awe, but definitely not intimidated. He also has a plan. “My goal is to play well and be the low amateur,” Weaver said. “That’s probably a reasonable goal to have. Sure, I hope to win, but I’m not going to go out and say ‘I’m going to win the Masters.’ I want to try to treat it like any other tournament, play well and play smart. I feel like my game’s good enough where if I play four good rounds I should have a pretty good showing.”