Wie wins first match at U.S. Amateur
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Michelle Wie was the lone survivor from Hawai'i yesterday after the first round of match play at the U.S. Women's Amateur in Erie, Pa.
Wie held off Angela Park of Torrance, Calif., 1-up, to advance to the second round, where she will play In-Bee Park of Henderson, Nev.
Two other golfers from Hawai'i, Shayna Miyajima of Wailuku, Maui, and Bridget Dwyer of Kailua lost their matches yesterday.
Hee-Young Park of Korea beat Miyajima, 6 and 4, while Tania Elosegui of Spain ousted Dwyer, 2 and 1. Miyajima never led in her match, while Dwyer was 1-up at the turn before Elosegui won the 10th and 11th holes to take a lead she would not relinquish.
Wie, 14, once again struggled off the tee as she had all week at the par-72, 6,365-yard Kahkwa Club course.
"The long game is important, but I had trouble keeping it in the fairway," the Punahou School sophomore said. "What won for me today was I made some really great up and downs. The short game was the difference."
Wie made three birdies and shot 2-under but could not shake Park, who covered three bogeys with four birdies to shoot 1-under.
"I have three words for her," Wie said of Park. "Nerves of steel."
The match was all square through 10 holes, but Wie won the par-3, 164-yard 11th with birdie, the par-4, 378-yard 13th with par and the par-5, 455-yard 14th with birdie to go 3-up.
After both made 3s on the par-3, 196-yard 15th, Park found herself trailing by three with three holes to play. That's when she made a charge, sinking birdie putts of 8 and 25 feet on Nos. 16 and 17 to give herself a chance to send the match into extra holes.
At the par-4, 364-yard 18th, Park hit her approach between two trees left of the green, while Wie's approach landed in the bunker behind the green.
Despite a tricky stance, Park's chip was on line and the ball caught part of the cup.
"My heart fell all the way to my toes when that happened," Wie said.
But Park's ball nearly rolled off the green, coming to rest nearly 45 feet from the cup. She would bogey the hole.
Wie also settled for bogey, halving the hole and winning the match.
"Angela played really well and I definitely played better than I had the first two days," Wie said.
In the only match that could be called an upset, medalist Amie Cochran of Torrance, Calif., lost 1-up to Hsiao-Ching Lu, of Taipei, China. Lu, 16, survived an 11-player playoff to qualify for the last match play berth, winning with a birdie on the second hole.
"I talked to my coach back in China last night and he told me I had two things to accomplish today," Lu said through an interpreter. "Win the playoff and beat the medalist."
Two rounds of match play will be held today.
Rhonda Glenn, communications manager for the USGA, contributed to this report.
