Posted on: Saturday, May 14, 2005
Wie fails to qualify
Advertiser Staff
Michelle Wie came up short in her first shot at becoming the first female to qualify for the U.S. Open, taking the second alternate slot yesterday in the local qualifier at Turtle Bay's windy Palmer Course.
Ronen Zilberman • Associated Press Hawai'i will have its own 36-hole sectional, June 6 at Ka'anapali North, with one golfer advancing to the 105th U.S. Open, June 16 to 19 at Pinehurst in North Carolina. More local qualifiers will be played today at Ka'anapali, Thursday at Po'ipu Bay and May 23 at Waikoloa Beach.
Kevin Hayashi (74), who barely missed going to the U.S. Open last year, is first alternate. Wie, playing in the final threesome, became second alternate when Norman-Ganin Asao and Andrew Feldmann did not stay for the playoff.
"We signed up for the U.S. men's Open just to experience it," said BJ Wie, who caddied for his daughter yesterday. "It was a good experience."
Wie was one of three females trying to qualify at 107 local sites. LPGA player Isabelle Beisiegel and 14-year-old Carmen Bandea will be in Atlanta on May 23.
Hayashi, a three-time Aloha Section Player of the Year, also came up just short when he didn't have anything lower than a four on his card. He filed to play in the Ka'anapali sectional and will wait to see if he gets a chance. Wie filed for the June 6 sectional at the Chevy Chase Club in Maryland. BJ Wie said he believes the chances of his daughter getting in are not good.
Soero was yesterday's biggest surprise. His stroke average for UH this season was 74.1, and his top finish was sixth. On a day when the difficult pin placements were reminiscent of the final day of the senior PGA's Turtle Bay Championship, the 21-year-old from New Caledonia buried seven birdie putts.
Soero was one of three Rainbows in the field of 61. Most of the men had played against Wie before so they hardly felt like they were making history.
"We're not part of history because she's done so much already," Lee said. "When you think of her, it's not as a teenage girl, it's just as another good competitor. When you're looking at the scoreboard counting how many people you think can beat a 72 or a 73, you automatically count her as one of the better players out there."
And she wants to play in one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world. Qualifying for the U.S. Open is a dream Wie shares with the thousands attempting to qualify.
"This is the one, what everyone dreams of," said Phengsavath, who grew up in Laos. "Now it's a reality that you have a chance."
Wie's next tournament is the McDonald's LPGA Championship, June 9 to 12 at Bulle Rock Golf Course in Maryland.
The Honolulu 15-year-old fired a 4-over-par 76 to tie for sixth. The medalist was University of Hawai'i sophomore Pierre-Henri Soero, the only player to break par, with a 70. Hawai'i's Regan Lee (72) and Joe Phengsavath (73), and Japan's Shizuo Mori (73), are the other three to advance to one of 14 sectionals.
Michelle Wie gets advice from her father, BJ Wie, in a qualifier for the U.S. Open. She is the second alternate for a sectional.
The Punahou sophomore's hopes were all but dashed early, when she three-putted the second hole for the first of four straight bogeys. She made the turn in 5-over 41, then played the back nine in 1-under, with two birdies. It wasn't quite enough.
Pierre-Henri Soero
