The 16-year-old Punahou School senior was penalized two strokes for making contact with a piece of moss behind her ball on the 14th hole.

She made contact while hitting out of a greenside bunker. The sand clearly moved, and the incident was picked up by TV cameras and tournament officials.

Wie didn't know about the penalty until she reached the recorders' office after her round at Royal Lytham. What she thought was a bogey on the par-4 hole became a triple-bogey 7 and her even-par round score of 72 was switched to a 74, leaving her at 4-over for two rounds.

"There was a piece of moss right behind my ball," Wie said. "I knew I hit it but I didn't think it would result in a penalty of two strokes. I thought if you hit dirt it would be OK, but I guess I knew the rule wrong."

A statement by the Ladies Golf Union said Wie broke rule 13-4 of the Rules of Golf, which prohibits touching the ground in a bunker prior to making a stroke.

"A stroke is the forward movement of the club, a backswing is not part of the stroke, hence a 2-stroke penalty was incurred," the statement said.

It's not the first time in her short pro career that Wie has been penalized and found out about it later.

In her first pro tournament last October at the Samsung World Championship in Palm Desert, Calif., she took a penalty drop for an unplayable lie during her third round. At the end of the tournament, officials ruled she made her drop at the wrong place, should have taken a two-shot penalty and disqualified her for signing an incorrect card.

Wie, who was in jeopardy of missing her first LPGA cut in three years after shooting a 2-over-par 74 Thursday, ranks among the top 40 or so players so far in the 72-hole tournament in Lancashire, England.

The 150-player field will be cut to the top 65 and ties after Friday's round. The unofficial cut line is 6-over 150.

Wie has finished in the top five in all six of her LPGA events this year and has not missed an LPGA cut since the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic in 2003.

Wie carded two birdies and a bogey Friday, to go along with her triple bogey.

She birdied the par-5 seventh and 11 holes and bogeyed the par-3 fifth.

Tour veteran Juli Inkster, 46, seeking her first major tournament victory in four years, continues to lead with a two-round total of 6-under 138 after shooting an even-par 72 Friday.

The other major LPGA tournaments have been won by veterans — Karrie Webb, 31, at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, Se Ri Pak, 29, at the LPGA Championship, and Annika Sorenstam, 35, at the U.S. Women's Open.

Webb, who beat Wie by a shot at last week's Evian Masters in France, missed the cut. She shot a 10-over 82 Friday and finished 14-over-par overall. Pak, who shot an opening-round 6-over 78, withdrew. Sorenstam is tied for sixth after shooting a 1-under 71 Friday for a 143 total.