Wie, Dwyer, Miyajima in match play at U.S. event
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Three of the four Hawai'i golfers competing in the U.S. Women's Amateur, including Punahou School sophomore Michelle Wie, qualified for match play yesterday at Erie, Pa.
Wie, 14, struggled to a 6-over 78 in the second round of stroke play to finish in a tie for 39th at 153 in the 156-player field.
WIE
DWYER
Kailua's Bridget Dwyer (76—154) and Wailuku's Shayna Miyajima (76—155) were also among the top 64 to qualify for match play. Kamehameha Schools senior Mari Chun finished out of the running at 81—165.
Wie will face Angela Park of Torrance, Calif., in today's first round of match play.
"I feel really relieved to be playing match play now," Wie said. "I don't have to think about strokes anymore. Strokes really add up out there. I was playing good golf out there but got a couple bad breaks."
She double-bogeyed the par-5, 455-yard 15th when she "overswung and pushed my ball into a tree.
"When I tried to hit it, it only moved an inch, so I declared it unplayable," Wie said of her second shot. She had to scramble just to reach the green in five, and two-putt for a double.
In last year's Women's Amateur, Wie shot 73-67 to finish second in stroke play and then lost in the first round of match play to Maru Martinez, of Venezuela, 1-up.
"Last year was a pretty bad tournament," Wie said. "I played pretty good in stroke play, but I got a little lazy. I've been in all the trouble I can be already, so maybe it's good that I played so bad. This will keep me awake and motivated."
Wie lost in the finals of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links in June. "I took a lot from my experience in the Public Links, that was very tough," said Wie, who won the 2003 Amateur Public Links Championship.
"But this is a different golf course, a different field. I put pressure on myself to perform and win. Right now I just want to get up there again."
Dwyer, a Punahou School and UCLA alum, will play first-day leader Tania Elosegui of Spain today. Miyajima, a 2000 Baldwin High graduate and senior at San Diego State, will meet Hee-Young Park of Korea.
Aime Cochran, a freshman this fall at UCLA, shot rounds of 70-71 to finish as the medalist at 141 in stroke-play qualifying.
"I've been working my butt off this summer," said Cochran, playing in her first Women's Amateur. "Everybody tells me, 'You hit the ball so far, if you could just chip, pitch and putt, you'd be awesome.' So I've been working on my short game."
Sun-Young Yoo followed up her opening round of 72 with a 71 and finished stroke play at 1-under par in her first Women's Amateur. She was joined there by Park and Julieta Granada, who hurt herself with a scorekeeping error.
Granada credited herself for a par on the sixth hole instead of the birdie she made, keeping her from finishing alone in second place at 2-under.
Yesterday's round was delayed 40 minutes because of bad weather in the area. As a result, the playoff among 11 players for the final spot in match play will be held this morning before match play begins.
The USGA contributed to this report.
