PARAMUS, N.J. - Mike Weir decided to take some of Wayne Gretzky's playoff advice to heart.
Those two men are currently featured in a PGA Tour commercial where Gretzky advises the Canadian lefty to follow the example of hockey players and grow a beard for the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Lo and behold, Weir arrived for The Barclays tournament this week sporting a growth of dark facial hair _ and it's not because he accidentally left his razor at home.
He's looking for an edge.
"Yeah, it's definitely psychology," Weir said Friday after shooting a 4-under 67 at Ridgewood Country Club. "I was on vacation last week down at a lake and let it grow. (When I) got back I thought, hey, it's playoff time, maybe I'll just keep it.
"It's a hockey thing. In hockey, guys grow the beards, so thought I would give it a shot and see if it works."
It certainly didn't hurt his round on Friday.
Weir made seven birdies against three bogeys to jump 51 spots into a tie for 14th. He's seven shots behind leader Steve Stricker heading to the weekend.
A couple solid finishes would put him in position to play all four weeks of the playoffs. Weir is currently ranked 43rd in FedEx Cup points.
The top 120 players after The Barclays will be eligible for next week's Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Mass. The field will then be cut to 70 for the BMW Championship in St. Louis and to 30 for the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
