Michelle Wie will come home to start her comeback from last year's golf turmoil.

Wie, a Punahou School graduate in her freshman year at Stanford, will play the Fields Open in Hawai'i, Feb. 21 to 23, at Ko Olina Golf Club. It will be her first competitive tournament since she ended a shockingly bad 2007 by finishing next-to-last at the Samsung World Championship in October.

BJ Wie said his daughter is enjoying college and has been working hard on her golf game. She spent her winter break in Florida with her coach, David Leadbetter, who is planning to work with her again at Ko Olina.

After bursting into the international spotlight at age 10 with a remarkably mature game, she compiled a burgeoning resume of accomplishments and turned pro with lucrative contracts at 15.

Wie, now 18, was hurt in 2007. She lost her confidence and vaunted swing and did not break 70 all year. Through a series of poor performances and choices, her bright star was badly tarnished. Leadbetter said Wie has "got to eat a bit of humble pie" and "prove herself again."

That will start at Ko Olina, where she finished one shot out of a playoff at the inaugural Fields Open in 2006.

"I'm excited to see Michelle because she's spent so much time out here. She's part of Ko Olina," said director of golf Greg Nichols. "It will be great to have her back. ... This is her home course and I fully expect her to play well. It's always tough coming back after not being in competition. The good news is, the rest of the girls are not playing much either."

Fields is the second full-field LPGA event of the year, with the SBS Open at Turtle Bay the previous week on the North Shore. The inaugural Kapalua LPGA Classic will be Oct. 16 to 19 on Maui, just before the tour heads to Asia.

Wie had six top-five finishes in a brilliant 2006 that saw her contending in three LPGA majors. She was 15th on the money list ($730,921) despite playing just eight events. She also made a cut on the men's Asian Tour in South Korea and, at 16, became the first female to advance to a U.S. Open sectional.

Last year, her precocious and prodigious career took major hits on and off the course. She was a combined 109-over par in an injury-scarred LPGA season that was equal parts frustration and controversy.

Wie started the year by missing the cut at the Sony Open in Hawai'i for the fourth straight year, with her left wrist wrapped to protect a three-month-old injury. Weeks later, she fell while working out and broke bones in her right wrist.

Wie did not play competitively again until she missed her Punahou graduation to tee off in the Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika. She offended host Annika Sorenstam by withdrawing because of her injury, then showing up that weekend at the McDonald's LPGA Championship to practice.

It only got worse. Wie made the cut, but finished last at McDonald's. She withdrew from the U.S. Women's Open after playing the first 27 holes in 17-over, beat only two golfers at the Evian Masters, then missed the cut in three August tournaments before finishing 36 shots behind champion Lorena Ochoa at the Samsung World Championship.

Wie won $23,024 last year on the golf course. She still ranked 12th on Golf Digest's annual survey of on- and off-course income. With a series of multi-year deals signed when she turned pro, most notably with Sony and Nike, Wie earned $12,500,000 in 2007, according to the magazine. She was ranked 12th overall; Sorenstam was the only other woman in the top 30, making some $2.5 million less.

BJ Wie said his daughter's playing schedule beyond the Fields Open has not been finalized. Leadbetter has said Wie plans to take the spring semester off to concentrate on the LPGA.

Nichols can't wait.

"For Hawai'i, this is huge," he said. "All her Hawai'i fans are going to want to watch her play and see how she's doing. The rest of the field is so strong now. Annika has committed. Between Annika and Lorena, Natalie Gulbis, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel ... what a great field.

"It will be fun to have her back. I'm not holding false hope that she can win the tournament. That would be a ridiculous expectation. I just hope she will have a real solid tournament. A top-10 finish would be great and she's definitely capable. She's been practicing. She wouldn't be here if she wasn't ready."

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.