Posted on: Sunday, June 29, 2003
Wie's time will come once experience catches up to talent
| • | Michelle Wie struggles, but makes the final cut |
| • | Putting problems hurt Honolulu teen |
By Stephen Edelson
Special to the Advertiser
|
| Michelle Wie consistently bombed drives beyond those of her playing partners' yesterday. The 13-year-old's struggles began once she reached the greens, where she needed 34 putts to complete her 1-over-par 72.
Associated Press library photo |
It was as if Emilee Klein, a former British Women's Open winner with three professional victories on her resume, and Michelle McGann, a child prodigy who went straight from high school to the LPGA Tour 14 years ago, didn't even exist. They might as well have been a couple of pro shop assistants summoned at the last minute to fill out the threesome.
As soon as Michelle Wie was finished whatever she was doing, the large gallery immediately began scrambling for a better vantage point on history.
"Give us a break!" McGann chided the crowd at one point, with her caddie quickly shouting "there's three players here!"
They actually ran out of tickets yesterday, sending patrons through the gate without a badge. That's something that's never happened at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, which counts Annika Sorenstam, Juli Inkster, Nancy Lopez, Betsy King, Se Ri Pak and McGann among it's past champions.
But Wie has never been here before.
The 13-year-old sensation from Honolulu, coming off a victory at the U.S. Women's Public Links, won't win for the second straight week. On this day, there were glaring examples of just how talented she is, and just how far she has to go.
Rather than challenging for the lead, her biggest nemesis was the dreaded cut line at the Seaview Marriott Resort. She flirted with it throughout the round, continually dipping to level par before slipping back into red numbers. She'll play today's final round despite bogeys on her last two holes to finish with a 1-over-par 72, placing her squarely on the bubble at 1-over after 36 holes.
Tee-to-green, she made her playing partners look like pro-am participants. She was consistently longer and straighter with just about every club in the bag. On the 481-yard 16th hole, she had 157 yards into the green on her second shot on the par 5. She was left with 82 yards into the green on the 382-yard ninth hole.
You do the math.
But when Wie grabbed the flat stick — it's actually a contraption that looks more like a piece of modern art than a putter — she more closely resembled any other teenager playing miniature golf on the boardwalk.
Had you placed most LPGA Tour players in the positions Wie was putting herself in, they'd have stamped a 67. But despite either hitting the greens on the par-5's or coming very close to the putting surface, she continually failed to take advantage of her opportunities.
"I played really bad. I missed a lot of putts. Everything didn't work out," she said. "I just putted really bad."
Wie clearly got frustrated on a 6,051-yard course where her awesome length gave her no advantage. She's used to playing modern layouts with wide fairways and 6,000 square-foot greens, not classic Donald Ross designs where the putting surfaces are like postage stamps.
In other words, her third LPGA Tour event of the year has been one heck of a learning experience.
"I think I should have played better but didn't so I feel frustrated and bummed out," she said. "If the course was longer it might be advantage for me, but my 4-wood is longer than their drivers sometimes, so it's still an advantage to me."
Despite her middle-of-the-pack standing, Wie was summoned to the pressroom afterwards, the only player not within a shot of the lead to receive such an invitation. It marked the continuation of what has been a draining month, that only figures to get more hectic. After today's final round, the family flies to Portland, Ore., for the U.S. Women's Open, where the national golfing media will clamor to hear how she started the game at age 4 and her aspirations to someday split time between the PGA and LPGA tours.
While she already has a top-10 in a major championship — her ninth-place finish at this year's Nabisco Championship put her on the golfing map — Wie is still working her way along the learning curve. She has the talent to contend for a national championship this week at Pumpkin Ridge, but she's lacking in experience.
Time should take care of that very nicely.
