Golfer Mike Weir won a cool million in Spain, turned heads at the Presidents Cup and established himself as a force on the PGA Tour in 2000. Now he can add the Lionel Conacher Award as Canadian male athlete of the year to his trophy collection.

 Weir was a clear winner of the award in voting conducted by The Canadian Press and Broadcast News -- quite a feat in an Olympic year that had no shortage of Canadian heroes. The unassuming left-hander from Bright's Grove, Ont., collected 73 of 168 first-place votes by sports editors and broadcasters across the country.

 The golfer had more first-place votes that Olympic gold medallists Simon Whitfield and Daniel Igali combined. Whitfield, who won the Sydney triathlon, received 37 first-place ballots and 206 points, ahead of freestyle wrestler Igali (26 first-place votes, 156.5 points), St. Louis Blues captain Chris Pronger (12, 86) and Dallas Mavericks basketball star Steve Nash (7, 78).

 Weir is the first golfer to win the Lionel Conacher Award since Sandy Somerville in 1932. Somerville won the U.S. Amateur that year, a first for a foreign golfer.

 George Knudson won back-to-back PGA tournaments in 1968 but the award went to pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, who was 20-15 with the Chicago Cubs that year, including five 1-0 losses. The following year Knudson tied for second in the Masters but Russ Jackson took the honour. The Ottawa quarterback was the CFL's most outstanding player and top Canadian.

 Weir probably would have been a back-to-back winner, but there was no award last year as CP-BN honoured Wayne Gretzky as athlete of the century.

 "I did have a good feeling going into this year," said Weir. "Last year, winning my first time (at the Air Canada Championship), made me really feel like I belonged on the Tour and felt like I wasn't just out there making a cheque. I was out there to try to win golf tournaments.

 "This year I felt I wanted to win some more. I got off to a pretty good start -- I didn't win anything at the beginning of the year but I had some good solid finishes and the way I finished off the year was probably beyond what I would have ever expected."

 Weir is due to open the 2001 season in January at the Mercedes Championship in Hawaii. But he has his sights on Augusta.

 "I'm really gearing towards the Masters," said Weir, who finished tied for 28th after a final-round 78 in his first go-round at Augusta.

 "The thing is I feel comfortable on the golf course," he added. "I really like the golf course. It sets up well for me.

 "Last year unfortunately I just wasn't striking the ball very well. My short game was very good but I wasn't striking the ball as well. Hopefully this year I can go in there with a little bit better ball-striking and I might have a chance."

 Weir's award gives golf a clean sweep of the individual CP-BN awards, following Lorie Kane's selection as female athlete of the year Wednesday.

 "It's good for our sport," said Kane, who pointed to a list of other Canadian golfers on the rise.

 "It's never too late to challenge your dream," she added. "I know that we have a lot of great aspiring athletes who would like to be where Mike and I are. I think the success that we have had breeds success for them."

 Weir won the American Express Championship in November at Sotogrande, Spain, where he hit 32 consecutive greens on the final weekend.

 While the water on the tricky 17th hole claimed Tiger Woods, Nick Price and Lee Westwood among its final-round victims, Weir kept on track with a nifty par save from behind the green.

 Weir won the old-fashioned way. He earned it. Only two days earlier he had suffered through an eight on the 17th and was nine shots off the lead as the weekend opened.

 Woods finished fourth, unable to break the $10-million US barrier on the year and become the first golfer since Sam Snead in 1950 to win at least 10 times in one season. Woods was named The Associated Press male athlete of the year.

 Weir was also the most impressive player on the International Team at the Presidents Cup.

 "It was a big goal of mine at the beginning of the year to make that team so when it came around to tournament week, I was really very very focused and ready to play," he said.

 "I prepared very well, I played well the weeks leading into it and things seemed to peak during that week. It's probably the best golf I've played in my life."

 Consistency was Weir's trademark in 2000. He finished sixth on the PGA Tour money list with $2,547,829 US and 21st on the world rankings.

 Weir also finished eighth in putting average and 14th in top-10 finishes with eight.

 He was an impressive fourth on the Tour in consecutive cuts at 16.

 "In '99 I did have a great year but there were more up and downs," he acknowledged. "This year was much more consistent. I think my game's just rounding into shape and I think just experience has taught me not to waste so many shots -- where I missed the cut by one or two shots, I'm conserving those shots better and thus becoming more consistent."

 While Woods has dominated the Tour, Weir refuses to back down.

 "He's raised the bar, so to speak. Those of us who want to compete with him and try and beat him and win some of these major championships that he's winning now, we've got to raise our games and I want to raise my game to that level to compete.

 "But I can't control what he can do. I can only try to make my game better and try to beat him on a more consistent level."

 Like most golfers, Weir dissects his game like a surgeon. He knows he can get better.

 "Last year was a great season but I still think my game can improve. Where that leads to I'm not sure, but I still think I have a lot of room to improve with my golf swing and rounding my game, to be a well-rounded player.

 "At times I think I still struggle with aspects of my game at different times. It's never any one thing, it's maybe driving the ball or ball striking one week, putting the next week. I just have to put it all together a little more and that means there's a little bit more hard work in the off-season and hopefully it will pay off at the beginning of the year."

 Age: 30.

 Home town: Bright's Grove, Ont.; now makes his home in Draper, Utah.

 Turned Pro: 1992.

 2000 Highlights: Collected $1 million US in winning the American Express Championships, his second win on the PGA Tour. Had eight top-10 finishes. Widely recognized as the top player for the International Team at the Presidents Cup. Has made the cut the last 16 times to rank fourth on the PGA Tour.

 Earnings: Won $2,547,829 US in 2000 to rank sixth on the PGA Tour. Has won $4,304,208 US over his career.