"I knew she was going to come back. ... I left myself in a really hard position," Wie said.

All square going to the par-4 18th, Park hit her second shot on the front part of the green, where it trickled down a slope and stopped 60 feet from the cup. Wie knocked her second shot 15 feet left and short of the pin.

But Park, of Henderson, Nev., lagged her first putt to within inches of the hole and Wie conceded the putt. Wie hit her birdie attempt several feet past the hole, and missed the comebacker when the ball hit the lip and spun away.

"It was one of those things," Wie said. "It passes right by and you don't know what happened."

Wie, who tied for 13th place at the U.S. Women's Open in July, has been widely watched as an amateur. Hundreds of fans followed her yesterday, and USGA officials said the tournament had drawn the largest crowds they had ever seen for this event. After her match, a disappointed Wie signed autographs for several young boys and girls waiting for her near the 18th green.

"I wish I didn't have to lose with a three-putt green," Wie said. "I thought I hit it (the first putt) good. I didn't think it was going that far past. I just gave myself a downhill, left-to-right breaking putts all day and it's really hard to make those putts."

Wie had struggled this week, shooting a disappointing 3-over 75 in the first round of stroke play qualifying. But Wie, the 2003 Women's Amateur Public Links champion, relied on her short game to beat Angela Park in the first round of match play Wednesday.

During the second round, Wie and In-Bee Park matched each other shot for shot for most of the front nine. But soon after making the turn, Wie went 1 up after Park hit her tee shot into the bunker on the 164-yard, par-3 11th and made a bogey.

Wie went 2 up when she birdied the par-4 13th and Park got another bogey.

But Park birdied the doglegged 16th, cutting into Wie's lead.

Known for frequently powering her drives over 300 yards, Wie hit a driver on the 379-yard, par-4 No. 17, but missed the fairway and failed to get up and down. Her bogey left the match all square.

"I think I got a little too aggressive," Wie said.

As Wie's parents walked with the gallery up the side of 18, her mother motioned in prayer. Minutes later, Wie missed her putts, leaving the crowd in silence.

In the afternoon round of 16 featured matches, Park lost to 16-year-old Morgan Pressel, of Boca Raton, Fla., 3 and 2, while Paula Creamer of Pleasanton, Calif., beat Brittany Lincicome, of Seminole, Fla., 2 and 1 to advance to today's quarterfinals.