Wie shoots 2-under 70, makes second LPGA cut

By Anthony Rhoads
Special to The Advertiser

STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. — There was little doubt yesterday that 13-year-old golfer Michelle Wie had become a fan favorite at the LPGA Chick-fil-A Charity Championship.

Michelle Wie missed this putt for birdie on the ninth hole of the second round of the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship in Stockbridge, Ga., but she made the cut. Associated Press

Wie, playing as an amateur on a sponsor's exemption, finished the rain-delayed first round at even-par 72 and the second round at 2-under-par to make the cut into today's final round.

She was nine strokes behind Webb, who surged to the lead at with bogey-free rounds of 67 and 66 in the 54-hole event south of Atlanta.

A month ago, Wie finished ninth at the LPGA's Kraft Nabisco and she is determined to notch her second top-10 today.

"I'm going play aggressive tomorrow and try to get into the top-10, at least," she said. "I played OK overall, but I made some stupid mistakes and three-putted a couple of times. I played better in the second round, and I made some putts toward the end."

Wie had to play 13 holes in the morning to finish the first round because Friday's play was delayed five hours after rainstorms.

After completing the first round at approximately 11:34 a.m., she began the next round a half-hour later.

"I played 31 holes and it was tiring," she said. "I'm really proud of myself for playing better in the second round, but I could play better. It was a new experience for me."

In the first round, Wie recorded four birdies, but also had four bogeys. In the second round, she bogeyed three and made five birdies.

Hundreds of fans followed her throughout the day and on the first tee of the second round, onlookers "ooh and aahed" as she smacked a tee shot that sailed some 20 to 30 yards longer than the other shots of her group, which included tour veteran Barb Mucha and rookie Lorena Ochoa.

The last hole of the day epitomized Wie's potential and immaturity. Wie hit a monster drive at the par-5 18th, carrying 300 yards on the fly. Playing partner Mucha jokingly offered up her driver to the youngster as the crowd gasped.

Mucha wound up 50 yards behind Wie off the tee, but cut a 3-wood right next to the flag and sank the putt for an eagle. Wie, on the other hand, picked a 5-iron for the front tee placement and skidded her ball far past the cup. She wound up three-putting for par.

"I kept picking out the wrong club," Wie said. "Those kind of mistakes made me have, like, a par instead of a chance for birdie."

Earlier, Wie disregarded her father's advice to putt from the fringe at 1. She chipped about 8 feet short and failed to save par.

"I told her to putt," said BJ Wie, who is caddying for his daughter. "I knew that was the best way. But she doesn't believe me. You know these kids."

Wie bolstered her score by sinking some long birdie putts. She attempted to drive the green on the 306-yard seventh and wound up in a bunker, but got up-and-down for birdie by sinking a 36-foot putt. At 16, she was dead-on from 27 feet for another birdie.

"She's a little bit tired," BJ said. "But she hung in there really well. She could have made some really high scores, but she handled it well."

Afterward, his daughter was mobbed by fans outside the scoring tent, many of them young girls seeking the autograph of this burgeoning star.

"I'm getting used to the crowd," she said. "If they're clapping and acting happy, then I know I've done good."

Tim Tracie, a fan from Henry County, Ga., said he was impressed by Wie.

"She's a great player, but she seems really shy about all the attention," Tracie said. "She was signing autographs after the first round and she seemed overwhelmed."

Webb is seeking her first victory of 2002. She hasn't finished higher than ninth in four events, which she blames on some uncharacteristic lapses.

At Las Vegas last weekend, Webb was 3-under with two holes to play in the first round. Then she put up a quadruple-bogey 8, basically knocking her out of contention.

"I've been throwing up some big numbers in the middle of rounds," Webb said. "That stops a lot of momentum and you have to play catch-up golf from there."

Fellow Australian Shani Waugh, seeking her first victory on tour, was two strokes back at 135 after a 66. She'll likely be part of a big-name final group on Sunday with Webb and Se Ri Pak, who was at 136.

Thirty-six players failed to complete the second round and will have to return early today to finish.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.