Michelle Wie in danger of missing another cut in a men’s event
FARMINGTON – Michelle Wie, golf’s 16-year-old phenom, shot perhaps the best 5-over-par round the Tour has seen this year. At least that’s the way Wie saw it Thursday, following a first-round 77 that leaves her in danger of missing another cut in a men’s event.
Trying for the sixth time to prove she can hang with the big boys in a PGA Tour event, Wie putted poorly and missed opportunities cost her, as she wound up tied for 125th place.
But following her round, and a quick practice session on the driving range, Wie said she felt her numbers were deceiving.
“I felt like I played really good,” Wie said. “I felt that my iron play was fantastic today. My driver was, aside from a couple of missed shots, pretty good. I felt from tee to green I played really well.
“I think my short game and putting let me down a couple, I mean, every time. I didn’t feel like I played 5-over because I hit the ball really good. Late in the day it was a bit bumpy, and I think that tomorrow the course owes me a lot of birdies.”
Tomorrow may be Wie’s final round of this, the final 84 Lumber Classic. She trails leader Nicholas Thompson by 13 strokes, and would likely have to shoot in the mid-60s to have a shot at making the cut.
Wie’s day started off well enough, with pars on her first three holes. She was greeted and hugged by 84 Lumber Co. President Maggie Hardy Magerko near the 10th tee box, then proceeded to hit her first drive into the middle of the fairway.
Three straight bogeys followed, all coming on par-4s.
“I think the three bogeys I made in a row wasn’t because I shot bad,” Wie said. “It wasn’t because I was behind a tree or something like that. It was, you know, failure to get up and down.
“I played even-par on the par 3s, so if I would have made some birdies on the par 5s … I mean I think I could have easily shot under par. But it’s just that my putts didn’t go in, but I feel like tomorrow my putts will go in.”
Wie was the only player in Thursday’s first round without a birdie.
Through nine holes, she remained 3-over par, but dropped another shot on the par-4, 409-yard first hole.
Wie closed out her round on the par-4, 476-yard ninth hole, and missed an eight-foot putt for par, leaving her 5-over.
On the par-3, 204-yard No. 17, Wie missed a 10-foot birdie putt, leaving her second shot 10 inches short. She also missed birdie possibilities on No. 4 and No. 8.
“I was frustrated with my putting not because I was hitting them bad or because I was pulling them or pushing them,” Wie said. “It was frustrating today because I was hitting every putt on line, and about six or seven putts looked like they were going to go in the middle of the hole, and sometimes they (would) hit a spike mark, or sometimes a footprint.”
Wie has played in the Sony Open three times, and the John Deere Classic twice. She forged a friendship with the Hardys when she was 13, and accepted an invitation into this year’s tournament over Thanksgiving dinner last November.
A week ago, Wie finished last at the Omega European Masters after missing the cut with opening rounds of 79-78. She did manage to better nine players Thursday, including the 84 Lumber Classic’s unofficial host, John Daly, who wound up 6-over.
Wie has not faired well in her last six rounds against the men, excluding an Asian Tour stop in which she made the cut. Wie has shot 77 or higher in five of those rounds.
Until she is 18, Wie is allowed to participate in just eight LPGA Tour events. She has never won on the LPGA Tour, but has finished in the top five several times, including twice in two of this year’s majors.
Challenging the men has brought Wie criticism, but she said Thursday she has nothing to prove to anyone but herself.
“I want to make cuts (in men’s events) because it’s an achievement and it’s a goal of mine,” she said. “I’m not out here to justify anything.
“I don’t really feel any extra pressure just because I’m a girl out here.”