Wie hopes she'll be a cut above

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Punahou School freshman Michelle Wie will be making her 11th LPGA Tour appearance when she plays in the Safeway International tomorrow in Phoenix. Associated Press ON TV Friday 8-10 a.m. ESPN Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ESPN2 Sunday Noon to 2 p.m. ESPN

Michelle Wie will take another break from her freshman year at Punahou to play in the LPGA's Safeway International, which tees off tomorrow in Phoenix. Wie, 14, will head to California next week for an encore performance at the Kraft Nabisco Championship — the year's first major.

Wie tied for ninth last year in Rancho Mirage, Calif. She played in the final group Sunday with Sorenstam and eventual champion Patricia Meunier-Lebouc.

Wie calls the final-round pairing with Sorenstam her most vivid memory of the tournament, with the ice cream bar — "it was fabulous" — a close second.

Sorenstam, who earned her sixth Player of the Year honor in 2003, calls Wie "the next generation." Sorenstam will make her 2004 LPGA debut this week. Se Ri Pak is defending champion at Safeway. A win would clinch a place for Pak in the LPGA Hall of Fame.

The tournament has moved to the 6,620-yard Prospector Course at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club this year. That puts Wie on equally uninformed footing with the rest of the tour this week, which can only help someone playing in her 11th LPGA event.

She made the cut in six of seven last year. Wie followed that up in January with a memorable performance in the PGA Tour's Sony Open in Hawai'i. She shot a final-round 68 to miss the cut by one, beating or tying 64 men.

That came at Waialae Country Club. Wie played the course 35 times the two months before Sony. She didn't have that luxury this week, seeing Superstition for the first time Sunday. She also won't have "Uncle Kevin" (Hayashi) playing beside her.

Winning is a goal that goes without saying, according to Wie. But for now, her goal is to average 68 this week.

"It will be tough for her to win because she doesn't have a lot of rounds in," says local amateur Del-Marc Fujita. "Everything has to go perfect. When she has the experience she can play well like she did at Sony, but with only two or three practice rounds, that's hard."

All but three of the Top 75 on last year's money list are in Phoenix. The traditionally strong field, in a golf-mad area, helps the tournament draw 80,000 fans annually. Organizers hope Wie will push that closer to six figures.

"There are very few people who come along every era that are not just standouts but are so exceptional that everybody wants to get a glimpse," said LPGA Hall of Famer Judy Rankin. "Certainly, Tiger (Woods) was that way, although everybody thought when Tiger was 14 that this was a long, strong, savvy, smart kid who didn't quite have the game under control. She (Wie) seems to be in a little different place at that age."

Wie's length is her most compelling asset on the LPGA tour. The 6-footer's average driving distance at the Sony was 274 yards. Sorenstam led the LPGA last year with an average of 270.

Since playing in the Sony and Hawai'i Pearl Open, Wie's focus has been on straightening and lengthening her drives, and becoming more precise with her wedges to take advantage of the LPGA's shorter yardages.

She's also spent much time studying. Wie had four exams scheduled this week, and "crammed them all in" last week.

This week, she will take another type of exam as she closes in on a summer full of golf under the microscope. She has at least four more LPGA events lined up, along with the defense of her U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship. In June, she will become the youngest player to take part in the Curtis Cup international matches.

Today, all she's worried about is Superstition.

"I look forward to the LPGA because the courses are nice and the players are also nice," Wie said. "I don't have a different focus than the PGA because in both of the tours you are just fighting the golf course, not the players."

SHORT PUTTS: Michelle Wie and Charlotta Sorenstam received sponsor's exemptions this week. Former University of Hawai'i golfer Cindy Rarick qualified.