Wie shoots 71, finishes tied for 33rd
By Stan Awtrey
Special to The Advertiser
STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. — She was never a threat to win the LPGA Chick-fil-A Charity Championship, but that didn't make Michelle Wie any less impressive to the crowds who flocked to see her play at the Eagle's Landing Country Club.
Associated Press
"Look at her," Atlanta's Ronnie Jackson whispered to his son as they watched Wie during the final round. "She's the next Tiger Woods."
Putting was a problem for 13-year-old Michelle Wie in the final round of the LPGA's Chick-fil-A Charity Championship, but she still finished the tournament at 3-under par.
Wie finished the rain-soaked tournament with a final-round 71, leaving her at 3-under 213 for the tournament in a tie for 33rd. Her performance mattered little to the 300 or so fans who accompanied her on the final round; only the leaders played before a larger gallery, and that was because the tournament had quite a finish.
Se Ri Pak defeated Shani Waugh on the fourth playoff hole, the South Korean's second victory of the year and 20th of her career.
Pak got to the playoff with an 8-under 64 in regulation. Waugh didn't fold, either, nearly matching Pak with a 65 that left both players with a 16-under 200.
Pak sank an 18-foot putt to save par at No. 10 after Waugh, trying to win for the first time in her career, yanked her tee shot into the lake bordering the left side of the fairway.
Waugh was in position to make bogey, but she never got a chance to putt. After a dismal second shot that stuck in thick rough behind the green, Pak managed to pull off a great up-and-down.
Without much green to work with, Pak hit a delicate chip that slid past the hole, then made the putt coming back to end the longest LPGA playoff in four years.
It was also a long week for Wie, who admitted she was tired from the week's activities. She arrived in Atlanta on Thursday at 9:30 a.m., did a press conference and played a practice round.
Rain pushed back the beginning of the tournament on Friday, and Wie didn't start until 6:20 p.m. She had to come back at 7:30 the next morning, finish her first round, eat lunch, and play the second round.
"I was really tired and I think I struggled a bit because of it," she said.
The 13-year-old had no problem, however, with all the attention she received. She gladly signed autographs and patiently posed for photographs all week. And if anyone wanted to refer to her as the next Tiger Woods, that was OK, too.
"That's really great because he's my idol, and he's the top player in golf," Wie said. "He's a really good player, so it's cool to be compared to him."
Wie made the cut by two shots — becoming the first amateur in tournament history to do so — and started the final round nine strokes behind leader Karrie Webb. She drove the ball more effectively than she had over the first two rounds, cutting down the number of hooked tee shots, but had no luck on the greens.
Associated Press
"I missed a lot of putts," Wie said. "None of my birdie putts went in, so if I'd made all of them, I'd be like 8- or 7-under. But overall I played OK, because I struggled a bit out there and I just covered myself up and I was really calm."
Se Ri Pak won her second LPGA title of the year on the fourth hole of sudden death.
Wie started on the back nine and seemed to have some momentum at the turn. She birdied No. 17 after sticking a pitching wedge to within two feet. And she birdied No. 18 after a nice downhill chip shot to within six feet.
The momentum was stopped at No. 1 (her 10th hole) when a low tee shot was knocked down on the right side of the fairway by a stand of trees. The ball dropped in a clearing beneath a tree, but her long punch shot caught the bunker, and she failed to get up and down for par. She closed with a birdie after hitting a gap wedge from a fairway bunker to within 30 feet.
Wie will play in four more LPGA events this year on sponsor's exemptions: the LPGA ShopRite Classic in New Jersey June 27-29, the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic in Ohio Aug. 14-17, the Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore., Sept. 26-28, and the Sports Today CJ Nine Bridges Classic, an official LPGA Tour event, in Cheju Island, South Korea, Oct. 16-19.
"I guess I may get sick of it if I play too long every week out here," she said. "I think this is good enough for me and I think six times a year is good enough."
For now the reality of being a teenager sets in. Wie must be back at Punahou School tomorrow, with a math test awaiting at 8 a.m.
