Posted on: Friday, January 14, 2005

NOTES
It's baptism under fire for Wie's playing partner

By Ferd Lewis and Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writers

Making his PGA Tour debut in a Sony Open in Hawai'i field that included Vijay Singh and Ernie Els, 23-year-old Matt Davidson figured he might be able to "fly under the radar."

He figured wrong.

The 2004 Furman University graduate found himself smack in the glare of the world golf spotlight following Michelle Wie yesterday, playing in her threesome along with Brett Wettrich.

"I'm not gonna lie, I definitely would have liked to fly under the radar, this being my first tournament and all," said Davidson, who shot a 7-over-par 77. "But you can't do anything about it. It would have been a lot more fun if I had played better."

Wie shot 5-over 75. Wettrich had an even-par 70.

Davidson said, "It definitely made it tougher being my first tournament. It adds to the anxiety when you have a big gallery out there. But I guess I'll get used to it quick. Everything else, all the galleries, from now on won't be too bad. That's the good part."

Asked who was more anxious yesterday, himself or the 15-year-old Wie, Davidson said: "Probably me. She has a lot more PGA Tour experience than me coming into this."

Entering yesterday, Wie had played two PGA rounds, both at last year's Sony Open when she missed the cut by one stroke.

"(Watching her) it definitely didn't feel like she was a 15-year-old girl," Davidson said.

NOTES

Missing on links: David Kim, whose art work graces many of the scoreboards in Hawai'i, isn't working the Sony Open in Hawai'i for the first time. Kim is undergoing chemotherapy. His assistant, wife Amy, is also missing.

Pro-Am tiebreaker: Geoff Ogilvy won Wednesday's Pro-Am with amateurs Jim Keller, Ken Rose, Steve Saucier and Allan Teixeira. Their team score was 55. They won a tiebreaker with the teams of pros Justin Rose and Rich Beem.

END QUOTE

Vijay Singh, the world's top-ranked golfer, on Michelle Wie's struggles yesterday:

"It's tough for the boys over here, you know. Going to be tough for a girl here, too."

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044 and Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043.