Wie shoots 72, could miss cut at Farr Classic

Advertiser Staff and Wire Reports

SYLVANIA, Ohio — Honolulu's Michelle Wie was one shot better today than yesterday.

But that might not be enough for the 13-year-old Punahou freshman, who is 13 shots back of leader in the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic.

Wie shot a 1-over 72 today for a two-round total of 3-over 145.

With the field not yet complete, Wie stands tied in 81st place and is in jeopardy of missing the cut. Play was suspended at 3:53 p.m. because of lightning, with 67 of the 139 players still on the course.

Laura Diaz, the first-round leader at 65, shot a 67 today. She is at 10-under-par 132 and has a three-shot lead over Hee-Won Han, who shot a 67—135.

Nicole Jeray (68), Kelli Kuehne (68) and Se Ri Pak (67) are at 136, four shots back of Diaz.

Wie bogeyed the par-4 first hole. After 11 consecutive pars, she birdied the par-3 13th, but bogeyed the par-5 17th.

Yesterday, Wie struggled early, shooting a 4-over 41 on her first nine. She recovered with a 2-under 32 on her back nine, thanks to birdies on the 13th and 15th holes.

She credited her recovery to her putting, an area she has been working on the last month.

"I guess it finally paid off," said Wie, who is in her fourth LPGA Tour event of the year.

Wie was in the last group to tee off in the afternoon yesterday and got off to a shaky start, hitting two of her first three tee shots far to the right and into the rough.

Her tee shot on No. 2 nearly bounced into a back yard, but her second shot sailed through trees and stopped within 5 feet of the green.

She was easily the biggest attraction, leaving a big gallery shaking their heads with her booming drives.

But Wie got into more trouble with her tee shot on No. 5 and lost a ball, ending up with a triple-bogey.

Wie turned it around with her putting on the back nine at Highland Meadows Golf Club.

"I learned I've got to be more patient," she said.

Wie's father, BJ Wie, returned to carry her bag after a self-imposed ban that came following a flap at the U.S. Women's Open a month ago.

BJ Wie had claimed Danielle Ammaccapane pushed his daughter over a breach of etiquette. A day later he retracted the story, saying there was no physical contact. But he stood by statements that Ammaccapane berated his daughter in the scoring tent.

Wie said she felt more comfortable having her father back as her caddie.

"It was nice," she said. "He helped me a lot with reading putts."

Diaz had three consecutive birdies on the front nine and shot a 6-under-par 65 yesterday.

Diaz managed to birdie consecutive holes on the back nine despite driving into the trees on each. She also made a 60-foot putt for birdie on her sixth hole of the day.

A stifling heat that reached the low 90s may have been the biggest challenge facing the players.

jamiefarrkrogerclassic.com contributed to this report