11-year-old girl makes it to Manoa Cup, but loses in first round
Advertiser Staff
Eleven-year-old Michelle Wie made history yesterday becoming the first female player, and the youngest, to qualify for the Manoa Cup. It was almost an afterthought today that she lost in the first round.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Wie fell to Los Angeles businessman Doug Williams in match play, losing 3 and 2.
Michelle Wie may be an 11-year-old girl, but she's not easily intimidated. Yesterday, she became first female player — and the youngest — to qualify for the Manoa Cup.
Yesterday, the Punahou sixth-grader birdied the first hole at O'ahu Country Club to qualify for the Manoa Cup, making history in the 93-year-old event.
Wie shot a 5-over-par 76 yesterday to make the 64-player match-play field, which also includes defending champion and top-seeded Randy Shibuya.
"All I was trying to do was qualify, not make a big number," said Wie, a Punahou School sixth-grader whose qualifying score matched that of Guy Yamamoto, a two-time Manoa Cup winner and 1994 National Public Links champion.
"I feel no pressure. It's OK losing against guys; they're stronger than me," said Wie, who, at 5 feet 9 inches tall, is not easily intimidated. She played from the men's championship tees in the Maui Open last weekend.
Chris Souza, 15, who will be a sophomore at Kamehameha School this fall, and Joe Phengsavath, who posted five birdies on the back nine, were co-medalists, shooting 67s despite wet and muddy conditions.
The cut was 80 for the match-play competition for the rest of the tournament.
Four-time champion Brandan Kop shot 72 to join Art Fujita (1964) and Damien Victorino (1996) as the other former winners in the field.
