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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, January 19, 2006

GOLF REPORT
Wie to play in LPGA's Fields Open Feb. 23-25

 •  Rule, school make Wie's tourney picks tougher

Advertiser Staff

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Michelle Wie will play in the $1.1 million Fields Open in Hawai'i, set for Feb. 23 to 25 at Ko Olina Golf Club.

"I am grateful to the Fields Corporation for inviting me to play in the tournament and I look forward to playing well," Wie, 16, said in a press release. She regularly practices at the course.

A total of 132 players will compete for the $165,000 first prize. The field will be cut after 36 holes.

The event is the second on the 2006 LPGA Tour, following the SBS Open at Turtle Bay.

Wie, who finished tied for second in the SBS last year while an amateur, has not decided if she will play in the tournament.

Tickets for the Fields tournament can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com; at all Ticketmaster outlets, including Times Super Markets; Blaisdell Box Office and at the Brigham Young-Hawai'i campus. To charge tickets by phone, call (877) 750-4400. Tickets will also be available at the gate.

For more information on sponsorship packages or to be a volunteer, call 671-1727.

On Sunday, Wie announced she would play in the Casio World Open, a Japan men's tour event in November.

SONY TV RATINGS DOWN

With the exception of Michelle Wie's first round, television ratings declined from last year for each day of the four-day Sony Open in Hawai'i last week.

A spokesman for ESPN said final overall ratings for Thursday's opening round were .06 (540,600 households), matching that of 2005.

Friday and Sunday each posted a 0.90 (810,900), down from 1.1 (991,100) and 1.2 (1,081,200), respectively, while Saturday did a 0.50 (450,000), down from 0.7 (630,700) in 2005.

Wie shot a 9-over-par 79 Thursday and failed to make the cut after Friday's round.

This was the final year of ESPN's coverage of the Sony Open. The Golf Channel will be the PGA Tour's exclusive cable network next year.