"I'm just going to go for some retail therapy for a couple days," joked Wie after her second-round 74 sent her to the mall today — with no regrets.

"Shopping would be a lot funner, but it actually was not that bad, you know, hanging in there. I like that kind of, what do you call it? ... not excitement, but it's like ... kind of you put yourself in a situation where you want to prove to yourself that you're not, like, put down, and you can get back. How do I explain it? ... it's not very fun, but it's kind of grueling and I kind of enjoy that."

Maybe only a 15-year-old with a bright future can understand. A triple-bogey 7 on the sixth hole all but buried any chance Wie had of recovering from an opening-round 75, and thinned her huge gallery dramatically. The Punahou sophomore missed the cut by seven shots — six more than last year.

"Missing the cut by one last year, I thought, I made it so close, I kind of took it for granted that I was going to play better," said the 2003 Women's Public Links champion, whose next appearances will be in next month's Hawai'i Pearl Open and the LPGA's SBS Open at Turtle Bay. "You know, I just think that I practiced too hard for it and I think I tried too hard."

Wie was attempting to become the youngest to make a PGA Tour cut, and the first woman since Babe Didrikson Zaharias 60 years ago. Wie tied for 128th, beating 14 men including Thomas Levet, who played for the European Ryder Cup team last year, and Kevin Na — the second-youngest player in the field at 21.

In the midst of another week of Wie Mania, some took advantage of a rain-softened course and weakened Kona winds to put themselves in position to win this weekend.

Shigeki Maruyama

Els, chasing a record third consecutive championship here, rediscovered his island magic over the final 12 holes. He opened with his first over-par round in paradise Thursday and was 3-over for the tournament after six holes yesterday. He buried four birdies and an eagle over the next seven holes and shot 67.

Mast, a 53-year-old conditional member of the Champions Tour, is six back but his 64 was the day's low round. Adam Scott matched Maruyama's 65 and Robert Gamez also shot 66 as Waialae played nearly a shot easier than Thursday (70.847-71.813).

"I'm not hitting long or straight all the time so I'm the leader at the moment, but if the wind stops, if the conditions get easier, all the players will make good scores," Maruyama said through an interpreter. "I'd prefer playing difficult conditions to make it hard golf for everybody."

Paul Azinger, Jeff Sluman and Tom Lehman are in a group three shots back at 5-under. The three usual Waialae suspects have lived on this earth a combined 137 years, and collected 19 Top-10 finishes here. Sluman, who hasn't had a bogey yet, won the inaugural Sony in 1999. Azinger was victorious the following year.

Rose, who lives in London, is at the other end of the spectrum. He is making his first appearance here at age 24. He turned pro the day after finishing fourth in the 1998 British Open and joined the PGA Tour last year. His best finish is third.

He holed out from the bunker on the first hole yesterday, but failed to birdie either of the easy par-5's. There is lots left to accomplish, according to Rose.

"I'm talking to you about winning," said Rose, who had four international victories in 2002. "But that's not even on my mind. The key is, tomorrow is another day and that first tee shot. Those are the small building blocks I'm talking about. It's staying in the present and trusting that if you do that, the result will happen."

Quigley, 35, shared the first-round lead at 4-under. When he eagled the ninth with a three-foot putt yesterday, he shared the lead again. It got away when he played the back nine in 1-over, hitting just three greens in regulation.

"It was nice seeing Maruyama playing well early, almost taking the pressure off me," said Quigley, who tied for fourth here in 1998. "I saw he was 9-under before I teed off so I knew it was out there to be had. I knew I had to play well. It was a good mindset to be in."