Wie three back of leaders after 36 holes in Nabisco

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Michelle Wie, of Honolulu, shot an even-par 72 in the second round of the LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship. Associated Press

While gusty desert winds of more than 20 mph made par for the Mission Hills Country Club course something to be proud of, Wie made peace with the elements and fired an even-par 72. Hawai'i's 14-year-old phenom goes into the weekend at the LPGA's first major tied for seventh place. At 3-under 141, she is three shots behind leaders Dottie Pepper (70) and Jung Yeon Lee (69).

"I put in a lot of good punch shots, and I think I was pretty good in the wind today," Wie said. "I was hoping to shoot 70 or 71 or 72, and I'm happy I shot even par because it could have been a lot worse."

It was, for most. The average score of the 98 players was a little more than 73.5 Thursday at the baked and benign Dinah Shore Tournament Course. Yesterday, that rose nearly two full shots.

Meanwhile, Wie rose to the difficult occasion. She covered three bogeys — all the result of mis-judging the wind — with three birdies. The birdies on the front were the result of soft iron shots to within 15 feet on the fourth and sixth holes. On the 492-yard, par-5 11th, Wie hit 5-wood off the tee, then belted a screaming low liner off her 3-wood to reach the green in two.

She hit driver just three times all day. Who knew Punahou School taught golf patience to its freshmen?

"I only hit drivers when there is no wind at all, or there is hardly any, and if it was straight downwind," Wie said. "That was the only two conditions that I would allow myself to hit driver. I changed lofts (from last year) and now it goes higher. ... So if I hit it into the wind I have no idea where it's going to end up."

Last year, in those awkward pre-high school years, Wie became the youngest to make the cut at this tournament. She followed with a third-round 66 to tie the tournament record by an amateur and launch herself into the final group on Sunday. She closed with a 76 to tie for ninth.

That was a lifetime ago in Wie years. She's gone from junior juggernaut to winning Hawai'i women's majors to a national amateur title (2003 U.S. Women's Public Links) and the LPGA and PGA tours in a four-year blur.

Now she goes into this morning's round in contention, three shots ahead of last year on a course that's playing tougher. She's proven she is sophisticated enough to pick the right shots at the right times. She could seemingly always hit them.

"I think that's what I've learned," Wie said. "Like if the wind is blowing this much and I have, like, a 400-yard par-4, I would try to hit a knockdown driver (before). That's kind of impossible to hit without putting a lot of spin on it. So now I learned if I hit a 3-wood, it still goes the same distance, so why not be in the fairway? I've learned a lot the past few years."

All that might be left for her to learn is how to finish. She was in contention last week at the LPGA's Safeway International and let it slip away with a final-round 77. There was also that 76 here last year.

Team Wie is working on that. She's accelerated her fitness routine — except when she gets "a little bit lazy" — and even cut her practice swing in half, literally.

Wie also takes a break now after the end of the round. Here, she goes to her interviews, then rides a golf cart to the private home behind the 13th hole where she's staying. She rests, then returns to the range around 5 p.m. with her parents and coach Gary Gilchrist.

"It's nice and cool and no one is around so you're not really bothered or anything," she explained. "I think after you've rested you practice a lot better. After a round you're full of adrenaline and you're just really hyper. If you practice more, you totally crash at home and you're really tired the next day.

"Also, I think practicing at 5 or 6, it stays on your brain a lot better than practicing at, like, 3, because I have really bad short-term memory and I just need to practice late at night."

Her father, BJ, agreed. "It's muscle memory," he said, grinning as if he didn't quite believe it himself.

Another difference this year is a dramatically improved putting touch. Wie averaged 32 putts a round last year, including a nightmarish 38 on the final day. So far this week, she's averaging 28 and hasn't three putted.

It was enough to make her the leader in the clubhouse for a few minutes yesterday, and the gallery magnet the first two days. Wie started her second round at 7:40 a.m., with about 60 people. That doubled by the fourth hole and doubled again at the turn, where people were four and five deep around the ninth green. The stands were packed and her gallery closer to 1,000 by the closing hole.

She also has a "posse" of five security guards from a nearby military base, plus a supervisor wired for sound, with her everywhere she goes on the course.

None of that seems to faze her, nor does the major LPGA company she's keeping.

"I hardly get intimidated," Wie said with a shrug.

Asked what she's looking to shoot today, she shrugged again.

"If the wind calms down a little bit, hopefully I will be happy with anything better than 69. I will be very happy."

Then Wie rolled her eyes.

"I would take 70, too."

She hesitated.

"Anything under par, I would take it, basically."

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043.