Beverley Smith, Globe and Mail, Published on Tuesday, Feb. 01, 2011

-----

Mike Weir had a partially torn ligament in his right elbow, an injury significant enough to scuttle his golf playing for three months.

But Tobin Haas has conquered brain cancer three times. And he’s just 11, with eyes that look too grown up and a soft voice that suddenly became clear while he posed a list of “hard-hitting” questions to Weir via Skype on Tuesday at a press conference.

Weir could not be at the Hospital for Sick Children on Tuesday, so he appeared on Skype, to announce a target for his Mike Weir Foundation.

The foundation, founded in 2004, has raised more than $2.5-million to support children’s hospitals with tournaments in London, Ont., Saskatoon, Halifax and Winnipeg. This year, Weir has decided it’s time to support The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, where Haas has spent so much time, with a fundraising golf tournament at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ont., on June 7.

The news couldn’t have come at a better time for Sick Kids, which is in the midst of a project to construct a $400-million Research and Learning Tower, scheduled to open in 2013. The 21-storey building will house 2,000 scientists, trainees and research staff.

It is one of the largest capital projects dedicated to child health research in the world, it says.

Nine years ago, Karen Haas noticed her then-two-year-old son, Tobin, was lethargic, had troubles walking straight and vomited occasionally. He had a baseball-sized brain tumour.

In 2005, the tumour grew back. Doctors removed 98 per cent of the tumour. But in June of 2009, the tumour had grown again, and had spread down the boy’s spine. In all, Haas has had 20 cycles of chemotherapy and 63 radiation treatments.

“He has a fantastic attitude,” his mother said. “And he loves sports: golf and baseball and hockey.”

“Why do they call you Weirsy?” Tobin said, probing Weir.

“Canadians nickname everybody,” Weir replied.

“Who is your favourite singer? Who is your favourite NHL team? Who was your role model growing up?” Tobin prodded.

Nickelback. The Detroit Red Wings. Jack Nicklaus, who Weir saw when he was 11. “It was great to see Jack Nicklaus up close,” Weir said. “That made golf cool to me.”

Weir hopes to meet the young Haas when he plays in the tournament in June. In the tournament, 288 people will play, but just 72 of them will get to play Goodwood, an Angus Glen-owned course at which less than 1,000 people have ever played, according to Nigel Hollidge, vice-president of strategic planning for Angus Glen.

Goodwood, open for only four years, is a private course that is being opened up to play for the fundraising tournament.

As for Weir, he’s picking his professional spots carefully these days. He’s played two tournaments, making the cut in one, the Farmers Insurance Open last weekend, and he’s looking at back-to-back tournaments in California this month to test out the elbow further.

Weir said he felt that he was getting “really close” to getting his play back. Last year, with injuries, he compensated for his pain and developed bad habits.

But he’s healthy now, he said, and recovery is going a lot better than expected. And he’s been able to ramp up his practice time considerably.

He figures he will play about five events before the Masters, an event he won in 2003.