But, the 15-year-old Wie withdrew from the tournament yesterday because of minor pain in her left wrist.

Greg Meyer will continue his pursuit of David Ishii's six Pearl Open championships. Ishii will continue to peak for his Champions Tour challenge. The rest of many of the best golfers in Hawai'i and Japan will be here for Pearl's unique challenge.

Yokomine, at 19, is practically ancient by Wie standards. But she and Ai Miyazato, about the same age, have put the Japan LPGA on their tiny shoulders and lifted it to unknown heights the past year.

Miyazato won six tournaments and Rookie of the Year honors in 2004. Yokomine got a later start — turning pro after high school graduation — but proved the perfect complement. She placed second in her first tournament in September. After her first four, she had earned exempt status for this season, which begins next month.

The JLPGA TV ratings soared past the men's tour. Yokomine signed a lucrative — by Japanese standards — three-year, $1.5 million endorsement deal with SRI Sports (Dunlop). Her other sponsors are All Nippon Airways and Coca Cola.

Still, the Yokomines refuse to turn in the trailer they use to commute to tournaments.

"Her father (Yoshiro) and mother (Sakura) will take the trailer to every tournament this year," Yoshiro said through an interpreter last week. "Sakura will take a plane. We will spend the night in the trailer. She says she will spend the night in the hotel. I predict she will spend half the time in the trailer. She has trouble waking up."

Sakura is now making the shots and calling them. It is a recent revelation.

Her father began to teach her golf in second grade, as he had her two older sisters (Rui, the eldest, plays on the Asia Tour). He preferred golf because he believed anyone could succeed with enough work, as opposed to sports that depended on "natural talent."

Sakura has worked, often in less-than-traditional ways.

As a child, she watched golf on TV as if she were studying for an exam. Yoshiro would pay her 100 yen (about 96 cents) for making a putt.

Yoshiro liked the way baseball players launched drives, so he used to toss her golf balls she would hit with a bat. One day, he replaced the bat with a broom to keep her entertained.

Knowing his daughter would balk if he told her to hit 500 balls, Yoshiro placed a bamboo pole a little over an inch in diameter 22 yards away. When she hit the pole, the lesson was over. She shattered it on her 10th try.

Asked if she respected her father as a coach, Sakura said it was "pretty cool" he would be so creative to keep her from getting bored. "As far as respect though, maybe not," she said, smiling and rolling her eyes. "But I enjoy what I do."

The unorthodox training, her 5-foot stature and penchant for ultra-long drivers have given her a unique swing that is painful to watch. At the top of Sakura's backswing, the club head is looped around to her waist.

It works for her, to the tune of 250 yards a pop. And her back is still intact.

Sakura practices nine hours a day and plans to play all 32

JLPGA events this year. Her allowance is $500 a month. She also earns $1,000 for every birdie, but is docked $1,000 for each bogey.

Nearly 40 Japanese media are here this week to see if Sakura can earn her keep, with TV Asahi filming her every move for a special.

After rejecting many offers to play on the men's tour in Japan, the Yokomines say they chose Pearl for Sakura's gender-bending debut for a few reasons. They relished the new challenges — from male opposition to Bermuda grass — and felt that because Wie had already played here, they would "not offend too many people."

Sakura has a series of goals, from making the cut here to becoming the second JLPGA player to win more than $1 million to playing on the LPGA tour and getting her picture on the front page of a Japanese newspaper. Miyazato has not achieved that.

"In order to be on the front page, you have to win a tournament in the U.S.," says Yoshiro, admitting that is actually his goal, not his daughter's.

Sakura has one more goal she is not shy about telling her father. If she wins a tournament, he is out as her caddy, she has insisted the past few months.

Her father shoots back that if she misses the cut this week, he gets to carry the bag all year.

Sakura, clearly calling the shots now, just laughs. "That has nothing to do with it," she said.

NOTES

Nearly live hole-by-hole coverage of Sakura Yokomine will be available at 808Golf.com each day of the tournament. The site will also have daily scoring and statistics.

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

Wie withdraws because of pain in left wrist

Michelle Wie withdrew from the Hawai'i Pearl Open yesterday because of "a minor pain in her left wrist," according to a press release from the golf tournament.

Wie, a 15-year-old Punahou School sophomore, was scheduled to play in the tournament tomorrow to Sunday at Pearl Country Club.

"Michelle still feels some minor pain in her wrist and her doctor recommended that she rest until the pain is gone," her father, BJ, Wie said.

Wie suffered a left forearm muscle pull while practicing two weeks ago. Since then, she has limited herself to putting.

"I'm very very sad that I will not be able to play," Wie said in a statement. "The Hawai'i Pearl Open is a very special tournament to me."

She hopes to be ready to play in the LPGA SBS Open at Turtle Bay starting Feb. 24.