VERNON, B.C. -- Mike Weir's one-over-par 71 in the worst of the weather yesterday at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, showed that he has designs on winning the Open Championship.
He also has designs on becoming a course architect. And it's increasingly likely that his first course could be here in the Okanagan, on property adjoining the Predator Ridge Golf Resort.
"IMG [Weir's sports management company] came to us to discuss the possibility of using that parcel of land," said James Cronk, the vice-president of resort development for Predator Ridge. "We were supportive and have had conversations about what that might mean."
Weir has spoken frequently in recent years of wanting to design courses. He enjoys links golf because it demands creativity and a ground as well as an air game. As often happens when a course stimulates him, he demonstrates what he can do.
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That happened at Birkdale yesterday, when he went out early in brutal winds, rain and cold. He hit 13 greens in regulation, as many, he said, as he would have thought possible. After losing a ball in high rough on the 16th hole, he eagled the par-five 17th, parred the last hole, and got in with his solid round.
"I'd say that felt like about a five-under-par round," he said.
Here at Predator Ridge, visitors were following Weir's round on television and online before the sun came up. Inside the clubhouse and at the entrance to one of the restaurants, Mike Weir Estate wine was stocked on a cabinet.
On June 30, Weir severed his business ties with the Creekside Winery Group in Ontario's Niagara region. Creekside has produced Weir wines for three years. Weir plans to take his wine across the country, and is looking for a site to start.
The Okanagan is popular for both wine and golf, so much so that Weir and IMG met last October with about a half-dozen developers who have property in the region.
"We went to developers who we knew were holding attractive pieces of property," IMG managing director Brad Pelletier said yesterday in an interview from Toronto. Pelletier accompanied Weir. "Mike also got a briefing during the Skins Game. We had our whole team out."
Pelletier was referring to the Telus World Skins Game, which was held at Predator Ridge on the Monday and Tuesday after last month's U.S. Open. The land that could become a new course abuts the Redtail nine on the 27-hole Predator Ridge layout, and has views over Kalamalka Lake. The Thorlakson family owns the property, now zoned as agricultural land reserve.
Cronk emphasized that much work needs to be done before a course is built on the Thorlakson land. Permits would be required, for one.
Should things proceed to the design phase, Pelletier said the project would be a joint venture between IMG and Weir, the Thorlakson family, Wesbild Holdings Ltd., which owns Predator Ridge and Westwood Plateau, a course and real estate development in Coquitlam, B.C.
Whether or not a project goes ahead on the Thorlakson property, it's being used for what Cronk and Pelletier referred to as a "staging exercise" to select Weir's senior design associates. IMG sent requests for proposals to 28 Canadian architects.
Pelletier was pleasantly surprised that 23 firms agreed to provide proposals. All have examined or will examine the Thorlakson property and present a philosophy and routing plan for Weir and his advisers to review. Toronto-based architect Doug Carrick, who has designed a new nine at Predator Ridge, was spotted here Wednesday, having dinner with Wesbild president Randy Zien.
Meanwhile, Richard Zokol and Armen Suny, his partner in their new firm Suny, Zokol Golf Design, surveyed the property yesterday. Suny is consulting with the Medinah Country Club near Chicago to prepare its No. 3 course for the 2012 Ryder Cup. Weir will pick his design partner by the end of October.
"I've been leading this, and we don't believe there's a better resort in Canada than Predator Ridge," Pelletier said. "We want to go with a leader in the business to establish Weir Golf Design. I also can't think of a better place for a Weir winery and academy. This isn't just about a wink, either, using a player in name only."
Pelletier meant that Weir plans to be intensively involved in courses under his name. For now, he's intensively involved in trying to contend for the Open at Birkdale.
Cronk, Zien and everybody else involved with Predator Ridge will continue to follow him closely.
Should things work out, they'll be more than his fans. They'll be his business partners.
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