Hamilton, Sept 07: It would suit Hidemichi Tanaka just fine if his first PGA Tour victory took place in Canada.
Canada, the 32-year-old Hiroshima, Japan, native said, is his favorite of the countries he has visited.

"I know Mike Weir is probably the most famous, but I would like to be almost as famous as Mike some day in Canada," Tanaka said of Canada's top player. The fact that he and Weir are both small men has not been overlooked by Tanaka. "Of course, I'm small in stature. I want to show the kids that are smaller people, not only in Japan, but all over the world, that if I can do it, anyone can do it. I only have a 28-inch waist, so there's probably not too many professional golfers with a 28-inch waist, about 132 pounds."

When Weir won the Masters earlier this season, "I was very happy, because he is also smaller in stature," Tanaka said. "I like Mike."
Tanaka, who leads the Bell Canadian Open by two shots entering the final round, said the Hamilton Golf and Country Club course, at 6,946 yards, is ideally suited to his game, which is centered around accuracy from the tee and on his approach shots.



"I felt comfortable," he said. "It's a position course, so in that sense, I felt comfortable with this golf course."



Prior to 2002, when he joined the PGA Tour, Tanaka had played a few U.S. tournaments each year, but primarily played the majors.



"I had already played seven years in Japan and came to the United States to play major championships, and at that time felt that I had to come to the United States to go to my next level to play better," Tanaka said.


Bureau Report