INTERVIEW-Golf-Weir aims high after strong 2008 finish

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

LOS ANGELES, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Former Masters champion Mike Weir failed to register a single victory on the 2008 PGA Tour but he is banking that a strong finish to the season will spur him on this year.

With the putts finally beginning to drop, the Canadian piled up six top-10s in his last eight events to end the campaign 14th in the Tour's money list with earnings of more than $3 million.

"It was very solid at the end of the year," Weir told Reuters in an interview.

"You still want to win but I showed some great strides in my game. I played very consistent golf and when you do that you're going to win eventually."

The lefthander's season featured eight top-10s in 26 starts and a runner-up spot at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

"I've been knocking on the door and you've just got to have a few things go your way when you win. I just haven't quite gotten over the hump but I put myself there enough.

"Hopefully (I will) just build on that into this year," added the Ontario native, who won his only major at the 2003 Masters.

Weir, whose eight PGA Tour titles put him level with the late George Knudson as Canada's most prolific winners on the circuit, says his 2008 season owed much to an improved short game.