HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. — Michelle Wie could end up making the final LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock an unforgettable event.

Wie shot a 2-under-par 70 yesterday to put herself in contention for her first win on the LPGA Tour. The 19-year-old from Honolulu turned pro in 2005, but this marks the first year she's playing as a tour member.

Thus, she's still considered to be a rookie.

Wie, a Punahou graduate and sophomore at Stanford, already has three top-10 finishes this year, and an improved putter helped her finish yesterday with three birdies on the back nine. If Wie makes a run this weekend, Bulle Rock can expect an overflow crowd Sunday for its final round as home of the LPGA Championship.

The tournament will lose McDonald's as a sponsor after this year and has not settled on a site for 2010.

Wie would love her first win to come this weekend, especially because the tournament is a major that pays the winner a cool $300,000. But Wie's expectations this year transcend collecting big paychecks.

"I'm having so much fun playing almost every week and traveling to different places," she said. "The main goal for me is to have a lot of fun, play my hardest, try my hardest. Win, for sure. And get on the Solheim Cup team."

Yesterday, Wie had her lone bogey on No. 3. She closed the front nine with pars on the next six holes, then had three birdies on the back nine to finish five shots behind leader Nicole Castrale.

Castrale birdied six of the first nine holes en route to a 7-under 65 for a one-shot lead over rookie Anna Nordqvist. Shanshan Feng of China was third at 67.

"It was good to start off well," Castrale said. "On the front nine all my iron shots were going right at the pin, and it was a great feeling."