I mean, there are other local golfers in the Sony Open, too.

However, it was all Michelle Wie in yesterday's first round of the PGA Tour's first full-field event in which the 14-year-old phenom got a sponsor's exemption to play with golf's big boys.

Even David Ishii, who posted the best score (4-under 66) of the eight Hawai'i golfers with local ties in the field, was caught up with Michelle Mania at the Waialae Country Club.

"Michelle is just a special person. The next Tiger Woods. For her to come out of Hawai'i is great for us here because we get a lot of free publicity from her," Ishii said.

"(A) 14-year-old in a tour event, 72, that's amazing. When I was 14, I just broke 80. That's the first time I broke 80, when I was 14."

"Amateurs of Hawai'i have to be proud to have her as one of us. She's going to be the next Tiger Woods," added Kaua'i's Jonathan Ota, the other amateur in the event.

Ron Castillo Jr. was the only other local golfer in red figures with a 1-under 69 to join a traffic jam of 17 golfers, including Vijay Singh, the 2003 PGA money champion.

"It's the best start I've ever had," said Castillo, who got started with a 40-foot birdie bomb at the 12th hole and birdied 15 and 18.

"I'm sure she's having fun," said second-year tour member Dean Wilson, whose 73 put him a stroke behind Wie.

Greg Meyer, a Monday qualifier, had nothing but tree trouble to shoot a 74 along with Ota, who said he was in the rough all day because of an errant driver.

"I birdied 17 and 18 to finish strong. It should put me in a good frame of mind for (today)," said Meyer, who plays on the Japan tour. "I'm a little rusty. I took three, four weeks off. I wasn't planning to come home until the Pearl Open, but Akiko (his wife) told me to try and qualify."

Kevin Hayashi, the Aloha Section PGA player of the year, couldn't match shots playing in the same group with Wie, shooting a 75.

"I'm not the only other one she's going to beat," said the Mauna Kea Resort teaching pro who was so supportive of the youngster during the round that she wound up calling him "Uncle Kevin."

Hayashi was impressed by Wie's drives, especially a 298-yard tee shot at the third hole setting up her first birdie of the day.

"I gotta follow that?" said Hayashi turning to Craig Bowden, the other member of Wie's threesome who saw also hit 300-yard plus drives at 14 and 18.

Champions Tour member Dave Eichelberger, who also qualified on Monday, struggled with Waialae's slick greens, three-putting five times during a six-hole stretch to shoot a 79 — the day's highest score at the par-70, 7,060-yard layout.

"My putter went from a magic wand to just a terrible snake that bit me," said 60-year-old Eichelberger, the oldest player in the field.

The par-4 second hole proved a Waterloo to Wilson, Ota and Castillo, who all ran into double-bogeys there.

Wilson and Castillo, who had made the turn 3-under in playing the back nine first, yanked their tee shots into the water. Wilson parred the rest of the way except for a bogey at 15.

"I couldn't get anything going with the putter," Wilson said. "The course is laying down for us but I just couldn't get those putts in there. It looks like I need to shoot 4-under (today). If the wind doesn't blow, it's out there to do, that's for sure."

If Wie got the media's attention, Ishii got the attention of the rest of the pros in the field with his 66 that put the 1990 Hawaiian Open champion in a six-way tie for third.

Starting on the back nine, Ishii birdied the 10, 17 and 18 before getting his only bogey of the day at No. 1. He got it back at the par-4 sixth with a 15-foot birdie and finished with another birdie on the par-5 ninth despite laying up his tee shot.

"Totally unexpected. It's the best score I had in over a year," said Ishii, who best round on the Japan tour last year was 70.

"I had a good caddy," Ishii kidded, referring to his Kaua'i buddy, Stan Kua, a former University of Hawai'i place-kicker.

Actually, Ishii was deadly with his 4-iron yesterday. One came on his second shot at the birdie at No. 6 and another at the par-3 17th when he stiffed it to within a foot.