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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 10:24 a.m., Sunday, June 27, 2004

Wie loses in Public Links final

Advertiser Staff

Ya-Ni Tseng of Taipei birdied the 36th and final scheduled hole to defeat defending champion Michelle Wie of Honolulu, 1-up, and win the 28th U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship in Willamsburg, Va.

Wie, who led 4-up after the first 14 holes and 2-up after the first 18, saw her lead continually dwindle. Tseng squared the match at the 32nd hole. Wie went 1-up on the next hole, but a Wie bogey put the match at even at the 34th hole.

It stayed that way until Tseng birdied the par-5, 466-yard, 36th hole (No. 18 on the course) while Wie parred.

Over the first 18 holes, Wie had three birdies and a bogey. Over the next 18, she had one birdie and two bogeys.

Last year in Palm Coast Fla., Wie, then 13, became the youngest to win a women's open United States Golf Association amateur event. Tseng is 15 years old.

Today's final ended six days of competition that included 36 holes of golf over the last three days.

Wie will now head to South Hadley, Mass., to compete in the Women's U.S. Open Thursday through Sunday (July 1-4). She received an special sponsor's exemption to play on the LPGA event.

Yesterday's match featured a lot of ebb and flow.

Tseng was 2-up after six holes, Wie bounced back to record three birdies over the next eight holes to tak a 4-up lead, the largest margin for either player for the day.

Wie finished the first 18 holes at 2-up.

Wie saw her lead shrink to 1-up when Tseng birdied the 21st hole, but saw it go to 2-up when Tseng bogeyed the 27th hole.

Both birdied the 29th (par 3, 130 yards, No. 11 hole). A Wie bogey and a Tseng birdie over the next three holes squared the match.

Wie went 1-up on Tseng's bogey on the 32rd hole (par 5, 512 yards, No. 14), but gave up her lead when she bogeyed the 34th hole (par 4, 350 yards, No. 16).