PHOENIX — When it was over, and Hawai'i's Michelle Wie had just made the cut on the number in the J Golf Phoenix LPGA International yesterday, she could be found on the driving range with coach David Leadbetter.

"It was a struggle," the Punahou graduate said of her 4-over-par 76, which put her exactly at the cut line of 149. "It's weird because I didn't feel like I shot my score. I felt like I shot a lot better. Just a couple of missed putts here and there and a bad drive, but overall I felt pretty good. I just couldn't make things happen, couldn't get it going."

Wie, 19, is playing for the first time since finishing second in the season-opening SBS Open at Turtle Bay, six weeks ago.

She just finished finals at Stanford and did better on those tests than she has on the Papago Golf Course greens. She had four bogeys and a double bogey, played the back nine (her opening nine) in 40 yesterday and has needed 62 putts so far.

Wie is 13 shots behind leader In-Kyung Kim going into the weekend. Kim, from South Korea, shot her second straight 68 and is two shots ahead of Norway's Suzann Pettersen (69) and Australia's Karrie Webb (68).

Two-time defending champion Lorena Ochoa had a triple bogey en route to her second straight 72 and is eight shots back.

Kapalua's Morgan Pressel is at 149 with Wie and LPGA Hall of Famer Juli Inkster. Wie and Pressel will be in the same group today.