The zone disappeared as quickly as it appeared. The 15-year-old Punahou School sophomore was in the top five at 3-under after 13 holes. Three lip-outs, two bogeys and a double bogey later she was over par, tied for 21st and a dozen shots out of first.

Not that anyone else is close to Sorenstam, whose 6-under-par 66 yesterday put her at 11-under. The Hall of Famer with seven of the last 10 Player of the Year Awards takes a five-stroke advantage into the final round this morning at Mission Hills Country Club.

A Sorenstam victory today would tie Nancy Lopez's record of five straight wins. Sorenstam isn't just shattering records lately, she is steamrolling the best female players on the planet. Even here, on the tour's most famous course, against an elite field.

"You see her name on the board and it's like, 'You go girl,' " Wie said with an amazed smile.

"She's playing awesome and I'm like 10 or 11 shots back and it's great. I think what she's doing is wonderful."

Wie is finding out firsthand just how dominant Sorenstam has become. Or maybe the precocious amateur is just discovering how goofy golf can be. One minute, she was leaving galleries gasping with the brute force of her drives or the pin-seeking backspin of her wedge shots. The next, par putts were spinning in and out and 230-yard blasts were pin high, but splashing in water.

"I was 3-under and finished 1-over," Wie said after shooting 73. "That's really disappointing."

Annika Sorenstam, who takes a five-stroke lead into the final round, has her sights on Nancy Lopez's record of five straight LPGA wins.

Her longest putt of the week (15 feet) was good for birdie on the seventh, which she double bogeyed a day earlier. But her first three-putt in seven rounds on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course gave her bogey on the birdie-friendly ninth.

Then Wie caught the magic that has given her eight top-20 finishes in her last nine LPGA events — and top 10's here the last two years.

She ripped a drive on the par-5, 492-yard 11th that had more than one in the gallery expressing amazement. Wie hit an iron on her next shot, running the ball past the hole then watching it roll back pin high, 12 feet left. Her eagle putt reached the edge of the cup, looked in, and refused to drop as Wie bent over in disbelief.

On the par-4, 385-yard 12th, she flipped a wedge shot from 115 yards and nearly stuffed the ball in the hole. It landed softly 2 inches right and spun back 2 feet for another tap-in birdie. Cheers came in English and Korean from the gallery of about 200, which included Wie's relatives from Southern California.

On the par-4, 403-yard 13th, she annihilated another drive, then hit her approach 6 feet behind the pin at the back of the green. A moment after she hit the putt, a fan screamed, "Yeah!" Wie watched the ball go in, then looked at him with a grin.

Her tee shot on the par-3, 148-yard 14th rolled within 12 feet. But this time the putt touched the edge and veered out.

"I felt so good about my game," Wie said. "That putt on the par-3 should have gone in. I was just really unlucky."

It got worse. She played the final four holes in 4-over.

Par putts lipped out on 15 and 17. "I don't know how those didn't go in," Wie said. "I hit a lot of good shots today that weren't rewarded."

On the famous island closing hole (par-5, 485 yards), Wie was 230 yards from the hole after her drive. She pulled out her 5-wood and waited for the green to clear, then hooked her shot into the water.

"I felt like I had enough and I did have enough," she said. "I just pulled it a little bit. The wait had a lot to do with it, but no excuses. It's the same for everybody. It wasn't that bad a swing, it just went left.

"I felt like I just had to go for it. I have to be aggressive with the game and I felt good about my swing."

Another wait, for a ruling, followed. Then Wie dropped a ball, hit left of the pin and three-putted again for double bogey.

Her head dropped and her arms folded. All the fun of playing with Juli Inkster and Laura Davies, and that mini magical run, were all but forgotten. She waited 10 minutes for two questions from ABC, did another interview with The Golf Channel and another with the print media, then signed autographs.

Another day down for the world's most famous 15-year-old golfer.

"As a player, you never think it's impossible to win on Sunday," Wie said. "But where I am right now, I'm just going to play tomorrow, try and shoot under par. I need to make a couple more putts, hit more greens and fairways. Then I think it will be fun."

NOTES

Mother knows best: Hall of Famer Juli Inkster, who played with Michelle Wie yesterday, has won this tournament twice. The first came in 1984, five years before Wie was born. Inkster's oldest daughter, Hayley, is Wie's age.

"Michelle is very mature for her age, a very talented golfer," Inkster said. "My daughter is a very talented shopper."

That wasn't all that had Inkster a bit off-balance yesterday.

"I keep feeling like I should be telling Michelle to go clean her room," she said.

Long shots: The third player in Michelle Wie's group was Laura Davies, who used to be the LPGA's longest hitter. Yesterday, Davies hit an iron off every tee but 2 and 11, though she did use driver off the fairway at No. 9. Her driving average was 225 yards.

Wie's driving average was 253 yards. Her average for the tournament is 270.

Annika Sorenstam, at 274, is the only player in the top 20 with a longer average. Wendy Doolan (261) is the only other averaging more than 260.

Elite eleven: Only 11 players are under par going into the final round, including 16-year-old amateur Morgan Pressel. Nine golfers are even par, including amateur Julieta Granada, of Paraguay.

Early risers: Michelle Wie tees off at 6:35 Hawai'i time this morning, with defending champion Grace Park and Curtis Cup teammate Paula Creamer.