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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Wie can fill void at SBS Open

Advertiser Staff

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Michelle Wie

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SBS OPEN AT TURTLE BAY

WHAT: First full-field event of 2009 LPGA season

WHEN: Tomorrow, Friday and Saturday, from 7 a.m.

PRO-AM: Today from 7 a.m.

WHERE: Turtle Bay Palmer Course (Par 72, 6,560 yards)

2008 CHAMPION: Annika Sorenstam (10-under 206)

PURSE: $1.2 million ($180,000 first prize)

TICKETS: $10 daily or $25 for four-day pass good through Saturday. Children 15-under free when accompanied by ticketed adult.

TV: The Golf Channel, live broadcast 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. tomorrow and Friday and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, and SBS in South Korea

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SBS OPEN AT TURTLE BAY

WHAT: First full-field event of 2009 LPGA season

WHEN: Tomorrow, Friday and Saturday, from 7 a.m.

PRO-AM: Today from 7 a.m.

WHERE: Turtle Bay Palmer Course (Par 72, 6,560 yards)

FIELD: 138 including Hawai'i's Michelle Wie, Waikoloa's Cindy Rarick, Turtle Bay's Dorothy Delasin, Kapalua's Morgan Pressel and former champions Jennifer Rosales (2005), Joo Mi Kim (2006) and Paula Creamer (2007)

2008 CHAMPION: Annika Sorenstam (10-under 206)

PURSE: $1.2 million ($180,000 first prize)

TICKETS: $10 daily or $25 for four-day pass good through Saturday. Children 15-under free when accompanied by ticketed adult.

TV: The Golf Channel, live broadcast 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. tomorrow and Friday and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, and SBS in Korea

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Lorena Ochoa, the world's finest female golfer, is not at this week's LPGA season-opening SBS Open at Turtle Bay.

Annika Sorenstam retired three months — and two more wins — after capturing last year's SBS Open.

The absences might not be noticed if Michelle Wie can play as well here as she did four years ago, when the then-15-year-old amateur prodigy finished second to Jennifer Rosales.

Wie, now a Stanford sophomore, makes her card-carrying LPGA debut tomorrow when she tees off at 12:50 p.m. at Turtle Bay's Palmer Course (she plays in today's Pro-Am at 8:50 a.m.). The Punahou graduate earned LPGA membership a few months ago, taking sixth at Qualifying School.

At the inaugural SBS Open, Wie was the only player to carve three sub-par rounds out of the blustery weather. She hasn't been back since, apart from becoming the first woman to win a U.S. Open local qualifier at Turtle Bay in 2006. This is the final year of the five-year agreement between the Seoul Broadcasting System, the resort and LPGA.

Wie, who made her LPGA debut at 12, has made millions since in prize money and endorsements. But the last few years have been full of controversy and disappointment. The last time she won was six years ago at the U.S. Women's Public Links. It has been a long time between trophies.

GolfWorld executive editor Ron Sirak is calling this Act III of the Wie Saga. In the opening act she was a "sensation," in the second a "tragic figure." Now she is a "somewhat humbled young woman trying to prove she belongs, and maybe live up to her enormous potential."

Clearly, the LPGA would benefit from a Wie resurgence. Her unique blend of talent and celebrity draws more attention to the tour than anyone, including Ochoa and Sorenstam. A Wie sighting followed by a Wie charge could create the perfect LPGA storm to start what promises to be a tough year.

Her presence in Kahuku is complemented by six of the world's Top 10, in Yani Tseng (2), Paula Creamer (3), Suzann Pettersen (4), Jiyai Shin (5), Cristie Kerr (7) and Angela Stanford (8). There are also eight Kims, four Lees and four Parks, three Chois, and a pair of Miyazatos and Hursts, along with LPGA Hall of Famer Juli Inkster and Natalie Gulbis.

It is a pretty good poker hand by golf standards, even with two aces not showing.

SBS OPEN AT TURTLE BAY

TOMORROW'S TEE TIMES

FIRST ROUND

FIRST TEE

7:10 a.m.—Becky Lucidi, Carolina Llano, Na On Min. 7:20—Marcy Hart, Angela Jerman, Beth Bader. 7:30—Young-A Yang, Leah Wigger, Eunjung Yi. 7:40—Stephanie Louden, Mika Miyazato, Allison Hanna-Williams. 7:50—Reilley Rankin, Erica Blasberg, Russy Gulyanamitta.

8:00—Kelli Kuehne, Becky Iverson, Maggie Will. 8:10—Anja Monke, Carri Wood, Samantha Richdale. 8:20—Louise Friberg, H.J. Choi, Yani Tseng. 8:30—Hee-Won Han, Jimin Kang, Laura Diaz. 8:40—Teresa Lu, Lindsey Wright, Meaghan Francella. 8:50—Brittany Lang, Kristy McPherson, Jane Park. 9:00—Jiyai Shin, Katie Futcher, Il Mi Chung.

11:50—Se Ri Pak, Janice Moodie, Nicole Castrale. Noon—Hee Young Park, Angela Park, Allison Fouch. 12:10—Sandra Gal, Jill McGill, Heather Young. 12:20—Christina Kim, Rachel Hetherington, Wendy Ward. 12:30—Morgan Pressel, Sophie Gustafson, Natalie Gulbis. 12:40—Dorothy Delasin, Stacy Lewis, Vicky Hurst. 12:50—Michelle Wie, Haeji Kang, Jin Young Pak.

1:00—Audra Burks, Jamie Hullett, Jackie Gallagher-Smith. 1:10—Eva Dahllof, Kim Hall, Jimin Jeong. 1:20—Mindy Kim, Mikaela Parmlid, Jennifer Rosales. 1:30—Anna Rawson, Paige Mackenzie, Amy Yang.

TENTH TEE

7:10 a.m.—Taylor Leon, Kris Tamulis, Birdie Kim. 7:20—Johanna Mundy, Lisa Strom, Kyeong Bae. 7:30—Louise Stahle, Aree Song, Danielle Downey. 7:40—Cindy Rarick, Wendy Doolan, Janell Howland. 7:50—Karine Icher, Michelle McGann, Charlotte Mayorkas.

8:00—Sarah Lee, Kate Golden, Na Ri Kim. 8:10—Julieta Granada, Jeehae Lee, Anna Nordqvist. 8:20—In-Kyung Kim, Paula Creamer, Suzann Pettersen. 8:30—Stacy Prammanasudh, Cristie Kerr, Shanshan Feng. 8:40—Angela Stanford, Eun-Hee Ji, Juli Inkster. 8:50—Jee Young Lee, Alena Sharp, Young Kim. 9:00—Lorie Kane, Leta Lindley, Silvia Cavalleri.

11:50—Sun Young Yoo, Brittany Lincicome, Minea Blomqvist. Noon—Na Yeon Choi, Candie Kung, Momoko Ueda. 12:10—Liselotte Neumann, Pat Hurst, Irene Cho. 12:20—Meena Lee, Ai Miyazato, Michele Redman. 12:30—Michelle Ellis, Giulia Sergas, Grace Park. 12:40—Song Yi Choi, M.J. Hur, Moira Dunn. 12:50—Meredith Duncan, Shiho Oyama, Joo Mi Kim.

1:00—Jeanne Cho-Hunicke, Sung Ah Yim, Mollie Fankhauser. 1:10—Linda Wessberg, Sarah Jane Smith, Young Jo. 1:20—Hee Kyung Seo, Ha Neul Kim, Chella Choi. 1:30—Anna Grzebien, Amy Hung, Soo-Yun Kang.

FRIDAY'S TEE TIMES

SECOND ROUND

FIRST TEE

7:10 a.m.—Song Yi Choi, M.J. Hur, Moira Dunn. 7:20—Meredith Duncan, Shiho Oyama, Joo Mi Kim. 7:30—Jeanne Cho-Hunicke, Sung Ah Yim, Mollie Fankhauser. 7:40—Linda Wessberg, Sarah Jane Smith, Young Jo. 7:50—Hee Kyung Seo, Ha Neul Kim, Chella Choi.

8:00—Anna Grzebien, Amy Hung, Soo-Yun Kang. 8:10—Sun Young Yoo, Brittany Lincicome, Minea Blomqvist. 8:20—Na Yeon Choi, Candie Kung, Momoko Ueda. 8:30—Liselotte Neumann, Pat Hurst, Irene Cho. 8:40—Meena Lee, Ai Miyazato, Michele Redman. 8:50—Michelle Ellis, Giulia Sergas, Grace Park.

11:40—In-Kyung Kim, Paula Creamer, Suzann Pettersen. 11:50—Stacy Prammanasudh, Cristie Kerr, Shanshan Feng. Noon—Angela Stanford, Eun-Hee Ji, Juli Inkster. 12:10—Jee Young Lee, Alena Sharp, Young Kim. 12:20—Lorie Kane, Leta Lindley, Silvia Cavalleri. 12:30—Taylor Leon, Kris Tamulis, Birdie Kim. 12:40—Johanna Mundy, Lisa Strom, Kyeong Bae. 12:50—Louise Stahle, Aree Song, Danielle Downey.

1:00—Cindy Rarick, Wendy Doolan, Janell Howland. 1:10—Karine Icher, Michelle McGann, Charlotte Mayorkas. 1:20—Sarah Lee, Kate Golden, Na Ri Kim. 1:30—Julieta Granada, Jeehae Lee, Anna Nordqvist.

TENTH TEE

7:10 a.m.—Dorothy Delasin, Stacy Lewis, Vicky Hurst. 7:20—Michelle Wie, Haeji Kang, Jin Young Pak. 7:30—Audra Burks, Jamie Hullett, Jackie Gallagher-Smith. 7:40—Eva Dahllof, Kim Hall, Jimin Jeong.7:50—Mindy Kim, Mikaela Parmlid, Jennifer Rosales.

8:00—Anna Rawson, Paige Mackenzie, Amy Yang. 8:10—Se Ri Pak, Janice Moodie, Nicole Castrale. 8:20—Hee Young Park, Angela Park, Allison Fouch. 8:30—Sandra Gal, Jill McGill, Heather Young. 8:40—Christina Kim, Rachel Hetherington, Wendy Ward. 8:50—Morgan Pressel, Sophie Gustafson, Natalie Gulbis.

11:40—Louise Friberg, H.J. Choi, Yani Tseng. 11:50—Hee-Won Han, Jimin Kang, Laura Diaz. Noon—Teresa Lu, Lindsey Wright, Meaghan Francella. 12:10—Brittany Lang, Kristy McPherson, Jane Park. 12:20—Jiyai Shin, Katie Futcher, Il Mi Chung. 12:30—Becky Lucidi, Carolina Llano, Na On Min. 12:40—Marcy Hart, Angela Jerman, Beth Bader. 12:50—Young-A Yang, Leah Wigger, Eunjung Yi.

1:00—Stephanie Louden, Mika Miyazato, Allison Hanna-Williams. 1:10—Reilley Rankin, Erica Blasberg, Russy Gulyanamitta. 1:20—Kelli Kuehne, Becky Iverson, Maggie Will. 1:30—Anja Monke, Carri Wood, Samantha Richdale.