With an ease that belied her 15 years and amateur status, Hawai'i's most prominent Punahou School sophomore shot a 2-under-par 70 yesterday in the first round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship and bolted into a tie for fourth at the LPGA's first major of the season.

She is one behind leaders Rosie Jones, Mi-Hyun Kim and Women's British Open champion Karen Stupples.

"It's about the worst she could have shot today," said renowned swing instructor David Leadbetter, here to help Wie this week while students like Ernie Els play in Florida. "She hit a couple loose iron shots and missed a couple putts. Other than those, it was a solid start to the week and that's what you need in these kind of events. You don't normally see somebody shoot 63 the first day. It's just about getting yourself in position for the weekend."

Four others are at 2-under, including Annika Sorenstam, 16-year-old amateur Morgan Pressel and LPGA Hall of Famer Juli Inkster, whose daughter Hayley is also 15.

Sorenstam, trying to tie Nancy Lopez's LPGA record of five straight victories, called the first round "10 percent of the tournament." She was 3-under after four holes, eagling the second, but saw her fortunes sink and her score rise when gusty winds and plummeting temperatures hit in the afternoon.

Wie, in the fifth group out, was chillin' long before the chill hit Mission Hills Country Club. She is working to improve on a ninth-place finish from two years ago and fourth last year, when she was four behind winner Grace Park.

In Wie's self-described "un-normal" world, that is not nearly enough. She wants a win, if not now, in the 20th LPGA start of her precocious golf life, then soon. Marlene Hagge was the youngest to win on the LPGA tour, at 18 years and 14 days. Beyond the LPGA, Wie remains game to take on the men of the PGA Tour and pursue a Masters invitation via national amateur events.

"Her belief system now is that obviously she can contend well and hopefully she can win a tournament this year," Leadbetter said. "That's absolutely the next level for her. One of the problems she has is that golf is all about momentum and it's tough when you're playing one or two weeks, then taking weeks off. Even if you're practicing it's not the same as a tournament with the ritual and rhythm going. Come the summer I think she'll be really ready."

She looked really solid during spring break yesterday. Wie was rarely ruffled, flying her drives by playing partners Ai Miyazato, who doesn't come up to the 6-foot-1 Wie's neck, and Natalie Gulbis. She missed just three fairways, hit 13 greens in regulation and needed just 13 putts on the front nine.

Wie sank a 9-foot birdie putt on the second hole. She saved par from 5 and 8 feet on Nos. 7 and 8, then birdied the next two holes from 4 feet. The birdie at No. 9 was particularly satisfying. She left an opportunity to win on that par-5 last year, playing it in 1-over while the rest of the field made it the third-easiest hole on the course.

Wie's only disappointments also came from the 4-foot range. After hitting close on the par-3 fifth and par-5 11th, Wie pulled birdie putts over the left edge.

The last one especially hurt: "Definitely," Wie agreed. "It was my third-in-a-row birdie. If I made that putt, I think I would have shot a lot better."

Her only bogey came after she missed the 17th green, finessed a delicate chip shot close, then left the par putt 6 inches short. "That was stupid," Wie said, then admitted the 4-footer she knocked in for par on the final hole made up for it.

Wie has not had a three-putt on this course, where the degree of difficulty is always of major-championship caliber, since she blew to a 76 in the final round — playing in the final group — as a 13-year-old. She has come a long way since, and dramatically narrowed the gap between the best female golfers in the world and Honolulu's amateur prodigy.

"I think that it's getting narrower and narrower," Wie said. "I just have to again move that one step ahead. I think I'm getting there. I just have to work on it a little bit harder."

That doesn't scare anyone out here, but it is intriguing. Rosie Jones, 45, said yesterday she would retire the end of this year, knowing the game is in good hands.

"Michelle Wie is exciting golf," Jones said. "She played really well. I had the opportunity to play with her in Hawai'i and it was fun. I feel thrilled that my career spanned the lifetime of playing with (Kathy) Whitworth and Wie. That's pretty cool. You've got the past and the future, and the future's young."

At 22, Gulbis was the oldest in yesterday's threesome, which started with a gallery of 30 and a Japanese media contingent of 35 following Miyazato. By the end, a crowd of several hundred followed.

Miyazato, 19, from Okinawa, shot 75 in her American debut. She won five events last year on the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, finishing second on the money list.

The trio goes out together again today, at 8:25 a.m. Hawai'i time.

This is Wie's third LPGA event of the year. She tied for second at at SBS Open at Turtle Bay and was 12th last week at the Safeway International.

NOTES

Drive for five: Michelle Wie is planning to play in five more LPGA tournaments this year. Three of her next four will be majors — the McDonald's LPGA Championship (June 9 to 12 in Maryland), U.S. Women's Open (June 23 to 26 in Colorado) and Weetabix Women's British Open (July 28 to 31 in England).

Speak easy: Michelle Wie had hoped to practice her Japanese with Ai Miyazato, but discovered that Miyazato is extremely proficient in English. "I was quite surprised today," Wie said. "She speaks great English. I didn't get a chance to speak Japanese to her, and probably embarrass myself."

Fame in the future: Australian Karrie Webb will be the 22nd player inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame after she competes in her 10th event this year. She met all the other criteria for entrance in 2000, but needed 10 years of membership to finally get in.

On the rise: In LPGA commissioner Ty Votaw's final "State of the Tour" address yesterday, he said that since the LPGA's five-year business plan went into effect in 2002, attendance and purses are up more than 20 percent. The average LPGA purse this year is $1.4 million. The winner at this week's $8 million PGA Tour Players Championship gets $1.44 million. Votaw has resigned, but will stay on until the tour finds a replacement.

Exchange rate: Of the 193 golfers who cashed LPGA checks last year, 85 were international players. Americans make up more than two-thirds of this year's rookie class, the highest percentage in five years.

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

Caddy, Wie in tune with one another

Michelle Wie outplayed Japan sensation Ai Miyazato yesterday. Wie shot 2-under 70 while Miyazato shot a 75.

Faldo is now a broadcaster and Sunesson and her husband have started a golf academy in Sweden. She hooked up with the Wies through David Leadbetter, Michelle's swing coach.

According to Wie, the partnership has proved beneficial, but a bit dangerous.

"It's great, we get along really well," she said. "For some reason we kept bumping into each other today. We couldn't walk straight. Fanny hit her head on a camera. I guess we were abusive to each other, but it's really great. It's working out really good."

According to Wie, the two speak the "same language" on the greens, like to walk fast and have quickly learned to work well together. They also share a passion for music — both have fully-loaded MP3 players — but Sunesson is having trouble getting a grip on Wie's listening habits.

There is an easy explanation: "Her favorites change everyday," BJ Wie said of his daughter. "Sometimes by the hour."