honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 8:56 p.m., Thursday, November 24, 2005

Wie misses cut again in men's golf event

Advertiser Staff

Honolulu's Michelle Wie was again close but again failed to make the cut in a men's professional golf event in the Casio World Open Friday in Kochi, Japan.

The 16-year-old Punahou student bogeyed her final two holes and shot a second round 3-over-par 75 for a two-round total of 4-over 148. She was tied for 67th with a handful of players yet to complete their rounds. However, only the top 60 players plus ties make the cut in 100-person field.

Wie, who turned professional this past October, was making her sixth attempt trying to make the cut in a men's professional tournament. She has failed to make the cut in three PGA starts, a Nationwide event and a Canadian tournament. She missed making the cut by one shot in the Sony Open in Hawaii in 2004 and by two at the John Deere Classic this past summer.

Only one other female -- Sophie Gustafson -- has attempted to make the cut in a Japanese event, the 2003 Casio tournament.

The last female to make the cut in a PGA Tour event was Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945.

Wie, who shot a first-round 73 Thursday, was in position to make history until the end.

She opened with a birdie Friday in Japan, but followed with consecutive bogeys. She birdied the fourth hole, but bogeyed the par-5 7th hole and par-4 9th hole. She made the turn at 2-over. But she birdied the par-5 10th hole to go to 1-over for the day and was on course of making it to the weekend. But on the par-4 17th hole, she bogeyed, dropping her in a tie for 60th at the time. Another bogey on the par-5 18th dropped her further down the leaderboard.

This was Wie's second professional tournament. She was disqualified in a highly controversial ruling after signing a wrong scorecard in the Samsung World Championship in Palm Desert, Calif., in October. She would have finished fourth in the event, but Sports Illustrated writer Michael Bamberger reported to officials after the final round that Wie had committed a rules violation the day before.

The Golf Channel contributed to this report.