honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, June 27, 2008

Wie fires 8-over 81 after a 9 on No. 9

Golf page
 •  The Honolulu Advertiser's Golf page
 •  Okino recovers nicely after nervous start
 •  Hurst, Oh share Open lead with 67s
 •  Pavin takes shortcut to tie for Buick lead
Photo gallery: U.S. Women's Open golf champions

By Doug Ferguson
Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Michelle Wie was 1-over when she came to the ninth hole. A quintuple-bogey 9 dropped her way down the leaderboard.

KICHIRO SATO | Associated Press

spacer spacer

TODAY ON TV

9 a.m. | ESPN

Tee times (HST): Kimberly Kim and Michelle Wie, 8:47 a.m.; Cyd Okino 9:31 a.m.

spacer spacer

EDINA, Minn. — Michelle Wie climbed three steps onto a platform, preparing to explain her quintuple-bogey 9 on one hole and her 81 in the first round of the U.S. Women's Open.

"This is my execution platform," she said with a grin.

Her performance at Interlachen wasn't that bad — it just felt that way.

Wie's road to recovery took a nasty detour yesterday when she took seven shots to navigate the final 30 yards of the ninth hole, which took her from the middle of the pack into a tie for 146th in the 156-player field.

When she tapped in for a 9, she lightly banged the shaft of her putter against her head. Dazed, she stood to the side of the green muttering to herself. She never quite recovered, and she failed to break 80 for the second straight year in the Women's Open.

"I had trouble counting how many strokes I had on that hole," said the 18-year-old from Hawai'i. "But like I said, it was just one bad hole. And it's the U.S. Open. It will bite you in the butt."

Playing partner Kimberly Kim, a former Big Island resident, shot 77 and Punahou student Cyd Okino, 14, opened with a 79.

Wie had to qualify for the Women's Open for the first time since the eighth grade, and she finished second in her qualifier. That was sandwiched around a sixth-place finish in the Ladies German Open and a tie for 24th last week on the LPGA Tour, her best showing in nearly two years.

One hole changed everything.

Wie pulled her tee shot into the right rough, then tried to hit a low approach through the trees to an elevated green. The shot came up about 30 yards short in the rough, although the ball was sitting up, and Wie had a reasonable chance of saving par.

But her third shot created the problem. The low screamer scooted over the bowl-shaped green into thick grass, leaving her a steep, downhill chip that could get close only if it hit the pin.

"I was surprised it came out that way," she said. "I didn't blade it all. It looked like I bladed it, but I hit behind the ball. It was weird."

Instead of playing sideways and using some of the contours, she tried a flop shot that came up inches short of the fringe. She thought about inverting the blade of her putter for the fifth shot, but she putted it conventionally, and it hopped out quickly and rolled down the ridge and off the green. Her chip reached the top of the ridge, then trickled back to her feet.

Wie's seventh shot was a chip past the hole, then down the slope to 5 feet. But she missed the putt.

Trying to regain her composure, Wie had a 3-wood into the par-5 10th that took a hard hop and rolled through the green, denying her an easy chance at birdie. She dropped three more shots along the back nine until making birdie on the par-5 18th.

"I had one bad hole," Wie said. "And tomorrow, it's going to be a new day."