Wie lone female in Hawai'i Pearl Open

Advertiser Staff

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26th annual Hawai'i Pearl Open WHAT: 54-hole golf tournament. WHEN: From 7 a.m. tomorrow and Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday. Pro-Am today at noon. Field cut to low 80 and ties (and top 15 amateurs if not included in that group) after 36 holes. WHERE: Pearl Country Club. PURSE: $77,500 professionals, $2,500 in certificates to amateurs. FIELD: 190 pros and amateurs from Hawai'i, Japan, Fiji, Korea and the Mainland, including defending champion Greg Meyer, David Ishii, Kevin Hayashi, Tetsuji Hiratsuka, Kiyoshi Murota and Michelle Wie. ADMISSION: Free. DEMO DAYS: Saturday, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. with Cleveland Golf, Olimar, PowerBilt, Ben Hogan and Kasco. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with PowerBilt, Titleist, TaylorMade, Olimar, Ben Hogan and Kasco. At driving range, with 25-percent discount offered for all orders.

Wie will match her precocious game against some of the best professionals and amateurs from Hawai'i and Japan when the $80,000 Hawai'i Pearl Open tees off tomorrow at Pearl Country Club. Nearly half the 190-player field is from Japan.

Wie, a Punahou freshman, is the only female at Pearl. In the last month she has missed the cut at the PGA Tour's Sony Open in Hawai'i by a shot and mingled with Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus at the Mercedes Championships and Wendy's Champions Skins Game Pro-Ams.

"It's been crazy," Wie said last week. "But Sony wasn't as crazy as I thought it would be."

This week will be a bit more laid back. Pearl offers the richest purse of any locally run golf tournament and attracts world-class players. Tournament director David Ishii was the first to ask Wie to play against top male competition, in 2002. At the age of 12, she missed the cut by three. Last year, she tied for 43rd at 8-over-par 224.

Greg Meyer won by one-putting the final two holes — for eagle and par — for 209. It was his third Pearl title, but first in 15 years. A former PCC pro from Hilo, Meyer was 76th on the Japan Golf Tour Organization money list last year.

Meyer is back and so is Ishii, who has won this tournament six times. The 1990 Hawaiian Open champion is heading back to Japan for the JGTO season later this year.

Tetsuji Hiratsuka, who was second on the 2003 JGTO money list, will also play this weekend. He won the year-ending Golf Nippon Series JT Cup in December and made 27 of 29 cuts last year, finishing in the top 15 20 times.

Two-time Pearl champion Kiyoshi Murota is also back. He was 10th on the JGTO money list last year and won the Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters.

Hawai'i pros include former champions Kevin Hayashi and Lance Suzuki, former Aloha Section PGA Player of the Year Ron Castillo Jr., Regan Lee, Parker McLachlin, Casey Nakama, Dean Prince, Jim Seki and Beau Yokomoto.

The amateur field includes Manoa Cup champion Kellen Asao, Del-Marc Fujita, Brandan Kop, Jonathan Ota, Travis Toyama and University of Hawai'i senior Matt Kodama, who was the top qualifier.

And, of course, Wie. Her progress will be posted hole-by-hole on 808golf.com. It also plans to produce its second television show, featuring the Pearl Open. Time and dates will be announced.