Rain delays Wie's drive for a day
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Michelle Wie's march through golfing history was temporarily put on hold yesterday by a torrential downpour.
With the Honolulu 16-year-old waiting on the first tee, heavy rains forced tournament officials to cancel the third round of the Asian Tour's SK Telecom Open in Incheon, South Korea.
The tournament, shortened to three rounds, will conclude today, weather permitting. Forecasts call for more rain, but not as much as yesterday.
Wie is scheduled to tee off at 3:50 p.m. Hawai'i time.
"I'll try to play another good solid round. I will try my hardest like I've been doing," Wie said yesterday. "If I play well, that's great. If I don't win, that's OK. See what happens."
Thursday, Wie made the cut in a professional men's tournament for the first time. Going into today's final round, she is six strokes behind the leaders, at 5-under 139. She is tied for 17th among the 78 golfers who made the cut.
Prom Meesawat of Taiwan and Malaysia's Iain Steel share the lead at 11-under 133.
Wie was to tee off at 2:50 p.m. Hawai'i time yesterday, but tournament officials suspended play for three hours, then canceled the round, shortening the tournament to a 54-hole event.
The Punahou junior is the second female to make a cut in a Korea men's tournament, although she is the first to do so on the top-tier Asian Tour. In 2003, LPGA player Se Ri Pak finished tied for 10th at the second-tier KPGA Tour's SBS Pro-Golf Championships.
No woman has made the cut on the PGA Tour since Babe Zaharias at the 1945 Tucson Open.
"It's just wonderful. Great. I feel really, really happy," Wie said Friday after shooting a 3-under 69.
Galleries of at least 1,000 people gathered around each hole she played at the Sky 72 Golf Club.
When Wie played the third hole Thursday, a toddler in a flowery dress shouted "on-ni (big sister) fighting!" as Wie strode by.
"I really enjoy that kind of thing," Wie said. "The gallery was crowded and they made so much noise. It made me laugh a bit."
Wie's parents were born in South Korea, and her visit has generated intense media coverage.
