Wie in tie for third

By Paul McMullen
Special to The Advertiser

HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. — Spectators who stayed put at the McDonald's LPGA Championship yesterday saw the future of women's golf parade by before they got a look at the past and present.

A birdie on No. 8 elicits a smile from Michelle Wie, who shot 1-under 71. Chris Gardner • Associated Press

Four groups in front of them, 15-year-old Michelle Wie, the first amateur ever in an event that began in 1955, continued to handle her historic appearance with aplomb. Wie moved up the leaderboard with her third straight subpar round, a 1-under 71 that moved her into a tie for third place at 5-under for the tournament.

Sorenstam's 69 moved her to 12-under. Young Kim is in sole possession of second after a 68 that got her to 7-under. Wie is in a group of five, seven strokes behind Sorenstam, but just two behind Kim and packing a sense of humor.

"Fifty-four would definitely win," quipped the teen from Hawai'i.

"I'm in a position I want to be in," Sorenstam said. "Hopefully, I can enjoy it tomorrow, play good golf and walk away with the trophy and good memories."

Said Davies: "It's almost like she's toying with us, like a mouse and cat. It's a race for second place."

Wie will be in the penultimate pairing with Jeong Jang at Bulle Rock, an 8-year-old Pete Dye design a 90-minute drive north of the nation's Capital that's flanked by Interstate 95 and an Amtrak railroad line.

Wie, the Punahou School student, continued the fast track that is expected to make her the youngest member ever of the tour. While Julie Inkster and other veterans criticized the LPGA's decision to extend an invitation to a player at the expense of a member, Wie continued to show that she already can hold her own with the game's best.

Annika Sorenstam is closing in on her ninth major title. "It's a race for second place," says Laura Davies. Gail Burton • Associated Press

Sorenstam attracted the biggest portion of a gallery that numbered 29,300, but the pack following Wie, which included her parents, wasn't that far behind. After she signed her scorecard, the longest line of the day at the autograph tent awaited her.

Decked out in white shorts and cap, an aquamarine top with a Nike logo, and matching shoes and jade hoop earrings, Wie got little help in the way of momentum from playing partner Nicole Perrot, who struggled to an 80.

It didn't take much of an up-and-down front nine — three birdies but as many bogeys — for her to display the considerable length that helped her post scores of 69 on Thursday and 71 on Friday. On the back nine, she settled into a par groove, but punctuated her round with a 2-foot birdie putt on No. 18 that led her father to hop and let out a "Whoo!"

She had another tap-in birdie on the par-5 second, but promptly gave back that stroke and another with a three-putt on the par-3 third, and an off-line approach on the par-4 fourth. She rebounded with a birdie and got another on the par-5 eighth that got her to 5-under for the second time, but paid for a rookie mistake on No. 9.

Wie's drive went a touch too far on the short dogleg right and ran up a bank, leaving the ball well below her feet. She pushed the approach into the right rough, chipped on and missed a short par putt.

A portion of a gallery that numbered 29,300 watch Michelle Wie tee off. Wie is one of only three golfers to shoot three sub-par rounds. Chris Gardner • Associated Press

Wie's run of eight straight pars included a solid save on No. 16, where her drive bounced off a cart path. Then came No. 18.

"I wouldn't feel so good if I hadn't done that," she said of her closing birdie.

There's still work to do today, but Wie is positioned to better her best finish in a major, the fourth she got at the 2004 Kraft Nabisco Championship.

"Anything is possible," Wie said. "I'll just put the ball so close to the hole I won't have to putt."

Paul McMullen is staff writer for the Baltimore Sun. The Associated Press contributed to this report.