Wie shoots 69, shares Juniors lead

By Donna Tommelleo
Associated Press

Honolulu's Michelle Wie hits out of a sand trap at Brooklawn Country Club during the first round of stroke play in the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship at Fairfield, Conn. Associated Press Hawai'i results Here is how the Hawai'i golfers fared in the first round of stroke play in the 55th U.S. Girls' Junior Championship at the par-71, 6,303-yard, Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, Conn. T1, Michelle Wie, Honolulu, 33-36—69 T20, Stephanie Kono, Honolulu, 37-38—75 T29, Amanda Wilson, Hilo, 38-38—76 T65, Britney Choy, Wahiawa, 39-41—80 T86, Lindsay Hong, Honolulu, 41-40—81 T110, Lisa Kajihara, Makawao, 45-38—83 Low 64 scorers after today's second round advance to the first round of match play tomorrow.

The big-hitting 13-year-old from Honolulu had a 2-under 69 yesterday to share the lead in the first round of the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship.

Last month she beat a field of women and teenagers to win the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links title and then competed in the U.S. Open for the first time.

Now she's in a field of 156 females, all 18 or younger, including five others from Hawai'i.

"I'm playing with a lot of girls that I know," she said.

One of them is Paula Creamer, among the top-ranked juniors in the country. Creamer, 16, of Pleasanton, Calif., had five birdies in a 69 that left her tied with Wie for the lead.

The only other sub-par rounds were 70s by defending champion In-Bee Park, of Eustis, Fla., and Sukjin-Lee Wuestoff, of Toms River, N.J.

The second round of stroke play is today and the low 64 advance to match play that begins tomorrow. The final is Saturday.

Wie's caddie at the Brooklawn Country Club this week is Gary Gilchrist, her swing coach. He replaced BJ Wie, who carried his daughter's bag at the Publinx and for three rounds of the Open. BJ Wie, who watched yesterday from the gallery, removed himself as her caddie after a flap over an etiquette breach between his daughter and Danielle Ammaccapane.

The soon-to-be Punahou School ninth-grader became the youngest champion to win a USGA adult title at the Publinx. A victory this week would give her another piece of history — no player has won both the public links and the girls' junior in the same year.

Wie said she is learning from competing against adults.

"I learned that you have to play smartly and not be aggressive all the time," she said.

Wie had four birdies yesterday, including one at the Brooklawn's signature hole, the 547-yard, par-5 No. 7.

She hit a 270-yard drive, then laid up short of a stream that crosses about 20 yards in front of the green. She hit a wedge 8 feet from the cup and rolled it in for the birdie.

While many in the gallery turned out to see the youngster's prodigious drives, it was her short iron work that kept her in front. Wie had the angles adjusted on her irons recently and said that made all the difference.

"I'm hitting my wedges a lot better. I guess it's like perfect for me," she said.

The touch was evident on the 128-yard, par-3 15th, the only uphill short hole on the A.W. Tillinghast-designed course. Wie dropped her tee shot about 20 feet past the hole, had enough backspin to get it within 12 feet and made that for birdie.

Park was 14 when she beat Jenni Tangtiphaiboontana 4 and 3 last year at Echo Lake in Westfield, N.J., to become the second youngest champion.

"This round has given me a lot of confidence," Park said. "I drove it very well today, and my irons were working."

Morgan Pressel, 15, of Boca Raton, Fla., the youngest U.S. Women's Open qualifier in 2001 at the age of 12, shot a 72.

"I hit some ugly shots but I didn't make any huge mistakes," Pressel said.