WIE
Wie falls to 36th after 1-over 73
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Michelle Wie bogeyed the final hole yesterday for a 1-over-par 73 that dropped her into a tie for 36th in the Wegmans LPGA at Pittsford, N.Y.
Wie, an 18-year-old Punahou alum from Honolulu who is playing on a sponsor's exemption, is at 1-under-par 215 overall. She is 13 strokes behind leader Suzann Petterson, who shot a 67. Eun-Hee Ji (64), Inbee Park (69) and Kapalua Resorts touring pro Morgan Pressel (71) were three shots back at 205.
Wie birdied the par-4 No. 1 hole, but took bogeys at Nos. 2 and 6. A birdie on the par-5 eighth got her back to even par, but she suffered bogeys on Nos. 14 and 15 to fall further off the pace.
Wie then birdied the par-4 16th and par-5 17th before suffering a bogey on the par-4 18th.
Meanwhile, Pettersen had five birdies and no bogeys despite tinkering with her swing.
"It's not like I'm surprised I'm playing solid, but I have less expectations, so maybe that's good," said Pettersen, a five-time tour winner in 2007 with no victories this season. "Of course you want to win tournaments, but a tournament is a four-day race and you've got to make sure you're there every day."
Ji holed out from 170 yards to open with an eagle and ran up six more birdies.
"I had some lucky holes today," said Ji, whose best finish was second to Pettersen at South Korea's Kolon Championship in October. "I wouldn't say it's my turn to beat her. ... It's more about winning my first LPGA tournament."
Pressel held a one-stroke lead over Pettersen after the second round, but got her only birdie on the last hole.
"Nobody is unbeatable out there," Pressel said. "I'm not going to say I can't catch her (Pettersen), but she played great today."