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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Friday, October 31, 2003

Wie fires opening 85

By Soo-Jeong Lee
Associated Press

Michelle Wie is in last place at the CJ Nine Bridges Classic in South Korea.

Associated Press

JEJU ISLAND, South Korea — Hawai'i's Michelle Wie, the 14-year-old Korean American widely considered the future of women's golf, shot a 13-over-par 85 today in the first round the CJ Nine Bridges Classic.

Trouble began on the first hole for the Punahou School freshman when her tee shot was lost in the trees and she made a double-bogey 6.

Wie's tee shot on the par-3 second hole went into the rough, and she needed two shots to hit the green before one-putting for a bogey.

She had a triple bogey on the par-4 fourth hole when her third shot went over the green and into a hazard.

Wie struggled to a 10-over 46 on the front nine. She rallied for a 3-over 39 on the back nine, but is last in the 69-player field.

"I never played this bad in three years," the disappointed Wie said after. "After my first drive, I wasn't feeling really confident and then I got a little uncomfortable, and that's why I kept on going right."

Ahn Shi-hyun, the 2003 South Korean rookie of the year, tied the course record with a 7-under 65 for a one-stroke lead over LPGA Tour player Grace Park. Catriona Matthew and Laura Davies were at 68.

The 17-year-old Ahn made seven birdies to equal The Club at Nine Bridges course record set by South Korea's Se Ri Pak last year on the resort island of Jeju.

Pak, the defending champion, opened with a 69.