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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, May 31, 2008

WIE
Wie three back in German Open

Advertiser Staff and News Reports

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Michelle Wie's two-round total of 7-under 137 is her best score in nearly two years. England's Lora Fairclough leads with 134.

DIETHER ENDLICHER | Associated Press

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MUNICH, Germany —Michelle Wie started yesterday's second round of the HypoVereinsbank Ladies German Open with bogey. It turned out to be her first and last in two days, as the Punahou graduate shot a 3-under-par 69 and is three shots off the lead going into the weekend.

Wie's two-day total of 7-under 137, at Golfpark Gut Haeusern outside of Munich, is her best score in nearly two years. She was 9-under halfway through the 2006 Evian Masters, an LPGA tournament in France. Wie tied for second that week when Karrie Webb overcame her two-shot lead in the final seven holes.

That was Wie's sixth consecutive top-five LPGA finish. She has not contended since and made just two cuts last year when she struggled with an injured wrist and her confidence.

This year, Wie made the cut at the Fields Open in Hawai'i, but finished last, then missed the cut earlier this month at the LPGA Michelob Ultra Open. This is her first appearance on the Ladies European Tour.

England's Lora Fairclough leads at 68—134. The last of Fairclough's four LET victories came at the 1998 Ladies German Open at Treudelberg Golf and Country Club. Leading money winner Amy Yang, from Korea, shares sixth with Wie and five others.

Wie had a putt for birdie on the ninth hole, which was her last of the day, when play was suspended almost two hours due to thunder and lightning. After a day of glorious sunshine and high temperatures, rain lashed the course. When it stopped, Wie missed what would have been her fifth birdie of the day.

"I was like, 'If they just hold it off for two more minutes we'd be out of here and I'd be in my bed right now,' but the weather is the weather," Wie, 18, said. "It's dangerous to be out there in the lightening and I think they made a really good call. It was crazy. It was amazing how cold it got."

The Stanford freshman's presence helped attract 3,400 spectators, a figure which is expected to increase significantly over the weekend. Wie hopes they get to see fireworks.

"I was really patient with myself today," Wie said. "It was a little frustrating in the beginning with really no score. I had a lot of chances to make a lot of putts, but they didn't drop in. I felt like in the middle of my round I really pulled it together. I played solidly today. I felt like I hit the ball and played better golf than I did yesterday so hopefully I can do that tomorrow and the day after."