Wie, Chun took different paths to success in 2004

By Bill Kwon

You can call 2004 the Year of the M&M Girls in Hawai'i golf.

Teenagers Michelle Wie, top, and Mari Chun, above, dominated local golf in 2004. Both amateurs experienced success by taking different paths. Wie found success playing in professional tournaments, and as a member of the winning United States Curtis Cup team. Chun won several Hawai'i tournaments, and the prestigious Callaway Junior World Championships in San Diego. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Wie, the 15-year-old phenom from Punahou School, showed that winning isn't everything.

She stole the show locally and created a buzz nationally by nearly making the cut at the Sony Open in Hawai'i, leaving PGA Tour members in the field in awe as she missed by only one stroke.

Wie went on to become the youngest to play in the Curtis Cup, leading the U.S. team to victory. She then made the cut in all six exempt LPGA events she entered with two top-10 finishes, shared amateur medalist honors in the U.S. Women's Open and nearly repeated as the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links champion, losing in the 36-hole final, 1-up.

Chun, a 17-year-old straight-A student, also had an A-game on the links this year, winning four tournaments: the Interscholastic League of Honolulu girls' crown, the Hawai'i State Women's Golf Association match play championship, the Hawai'i State Junior Golf Association 15-17 title and the same age-group title in the prestigious Callaway Junior World Championships in San Diego.

"What a blur. I can't believe it all happened," Chun said.

Her 54-hole victory at the Junior World, which she will defend next summer because she won't turn 18 until August, caught the attention of college coaches, who were asking out loud, "Who is this person?"

Someone playing in the final group with Chun told her, "You know that some coaches are following us, don't you?"

One of them turned out to be from Stanford, where Chun will enroll next fall on a golf scholarship.

"It's kinda like a dream school for me," said Chun, overwhelmed that she also received offers from USC and UCLA. "I never thought I'd get offers from schools like that."

Chun

That degree of separation is about as close as Chun and Wie have ever gotten over the years, mostly because of their differing philosophical paths in golf.

Wie has eschewed junior golf competition, opting to play against older competition after turning 12. Not Chun.

"For me, I really wanted to play as many junior golf tournaments as possible. Pretty soon I won't be able to. I'll be too old," Chun said.

Chun realizes that she and Wie are going different ways toward the same goal, that of playing professional golf some day.

"She's a great player. I hope she goes all the way," Chun says.

For Mari, the next stop is Stanford after she graduates from Kamehameha.

For Michelle, who has said she wants to go to Stanford, many believe the next stop will be a leap to the LPGA.

But let's not rush things.

Enjoy and reflect, instead, in the waning hours of 2004 — the Year of the M&M Girls.

A year that Mari describes as surreal and one that again proved to be unreal for Michelle.

Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net.