Wie misses cut at Bay Mills Open

By Michael Patrick Shiels
Special to The Advertiser

Michelle Wie lines up a putt on the 11th hole yesterday at the Wild Bluff Golf Club during the second round of the Bay Mills Open Players Championship in Brimley, Mich. Associated Press

Wie begins the ninth grade at Punahou on Monday.

"I get to see my friends again," she said. "And I don't miss the first day of school, so I guess that's good. I haven't been home since May 30."

Wie, who began yesterday's round at 2-over-par 74 with a chance to be the first woman to make a cut in a men's professional golf tournament, bogeyed the opening hole of the second round and lost ground from there. Hitting only three fairways all day, the 13-year-old made eight bogeys, including four in a row on the 11th through 14th holes. She shot 39-40—79 over a Wild Bluff course that played the toughest it has all week.

She finished at 9-over 153. Darkness suspended completion of the second round but the cut was expected to be at 4-over.

"The conditions changed from yesterday. Today, the wind was opposite and swirling," Wie said. "On No. 15, I would throw the grass up, and every time I did the wind would be different. The wind would be into me, sideways, downwind and different. Today just nothing really worked."

Said father BJ Wie, who also served as her caddy: "I think she needs to learn to adjust faster to changing conditions. This was a good experience for her to see what is lacking in her game. She is still an amateur."

Wie knows she has another chance Sept. 18-21 at the PGA's Nationwide Tour Boise Open. She also knows that the competition will be stiffer.

"If the competition is harder and the course is harder, I'll just have to play harder," Wie said. "I'm going to buy an exercise bike and use it at home because I think I get tired a bit. I'm going to practice on my short game and work hard."

Wie said physical strength and endurance were not the only areas for her to focus on.

"I got mentally tired but I recuperated after my birdie and got energized. I feel disappointed after a bogey and really excited after a birdie. I have to work on that a bit. My emotions are like a roller coaster."

Wie said she tried to focus on her own game and not look at the shots of her male competitors, but she did notice a big difference between men's and women's golf.

"The guys can stop the ball on the green when hitting from the rough. I don't have enough club-head speed to get it out and high, but my playing partners would hit it high and have it land soft on the green," she said.

The Canadian Tour players, some of whom asked for her autograph, were impressed with her big game.

"At 13, I was still trying to tie my shoes properly. She's out here and mature enough to stay within her game," said Chris Wall, who was tied for the second-round lead at 140. "The 74 she shot on Thursday was unbelievable. It was windy and she showed stamina and game. The sky is the limit for her. She's the real deal."

Wie's summer on the Mainland was highlighted at the U.S. Women's Public Links in Palm Coast, Fla., when she became the youngest champion of an adult U.S. Golf Association event in the organization's 103-year history. It was her first national championship and first title outside of Hawai'i. She also qualified for the U.S. Women's Open in North Plains, Ore., where despite making the cut, she got more publicity over a tiff with professional Danielle Ammaccapane over course etiquette.

She also played in two LPGA tournaments and two USGA events that took her to New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Wie played on a sponsors' exemption for the Bay Mills Open from The Golf Channel, which broadcast the tournament. Tournament organizers have extended an invitation for her to return next summer. Will she accept?

"I don't know," Wie said. "I'll have to ask my parents."

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Associated Press contributed to this report.