Friday golf story

Ken_8

At 15, Wie Is in Line to Make Men's Cut

By DAVID PICKER - NYTimes
Published: July 8, 2005
SILVIS, Ill., July 7 - While many other teenage girls relaxed Thursday on summer vacation, Michelle Wie was playing on the PGA Tour and giving the men a run for their money.

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press
Michelle Wie could become the first woman since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945 to make a PGA cut.

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The 15-year-old Wie fired a one-under-par 70 in the first round of the John Deere Classic and put herself in a good position to become the first woman to make a PGA Tour cut since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945, at the Tucson Open.

After Wie sank a 16-foot putt for par on No. 18, a few thousand fans showered her with cheers. The shot completed a round that included five birdies and four bogeys.

"In a way I'm happy and in a way I'm not happy," said Wie, an amateur who is playing on a sponsor's exemption. "Of course I want to shoot a lower score, but I'm really happy the way it turned out."

Wie was in a 19-way tie for 73rd place. Hunter Mahan was the leader in the 156-player field after shooting a 63 on the 7,193-yard TPC at Deere Run.

The top 70 players, including ties, will make the cut after Friday's round. "I'm not really thinking about the cut," Wie said.

Wie is competing on the PGA Tour for the third time. She played in the 2004 and 2005 Sony Opens in her native Hawaii, missing the cuts by one stroke and seven strokes, respectively. Annika Sorenstam became the first woman to compete on the PGA Tour in 58 years when she played in the 2003 Colonial. Since then, Wie and Suzy Whaley are the only women to have competed on the PGA Tour.

"I'm pretty young now, but I've gotten a lot older and a lot more mature," Wie said when asked about how she handles adversity now compared with two years ago. "I have a lot more experience. I know what to expect."

Wie outplayed her playing partners, Scott Gutschewski (71) and Nick Watney (75), both rookies. Gutschewski consistently outdrove Wie, who hit 10 of 14 fairways, by about 40 yards. But on the 432-yard, par-4 11th hole, Wie outdistanced Gutschewski by 4 yards with a 266-yard drive.

"She's going to beat a lot of guys," Gutschewski said. "She'll probably beat a lot of guys tomorrow. She's going to beat a lot of guys for the rest of her life, I'm sure."

Jeff Maggert (71) and Larry Mize (72) were among the notable golfers who trailed Wie, a precocious 6-footer known for her fluid swing and long drives.

Wie began the day under sunny skies and seemingly immune to pressure, hitting the first two fairways to go one under. But then she bogeyed four of the next six holes.

Wie wore her emotions outwardly. After her drive on No. 6 landed in a fairway bunker, she slammed her club into the grass. When her 9-foot par putt on No. 8 missed the hole, she shot a look of disgust toward her caddie. But when shots went her way, she was quick to pump her fist and wave to the gallery.

Wie had a lot to smile about on the 485-yard, par-4 ninth hole. After her drive landed a few yards to the right of the fairway and in front of a group of trees, her chances of reaching the green, 199 yards away, in two seemed remote. But she bent a shot that stopped 28 feet from the pin and birdied the hole to make the turn in one over.

"I had no view of the hole on that hole, and it could have been a bogey or worse," Wie said. "I haven't played that big slice in a long time; it has been like at least a year."

Wie settled down on the back nine, carding seven pars and two birdies. She missed birdie putts from Nos. 12 through 16 and reached the 557-yard, par-5 17th hole in two, but her eagle putt from 12 feet missed and she settled for birdie.

"The front nine I was just a little bit shaky and I made a lot of stupid bogeys," Wie said. "But I'm proud of myself for getting back on track."

Watney said: "To realize that she's a 15-year-old girl is kind of mind-boggling. I mean, she's a phenom. When I was 15, it didn't look like that."

Wie's perceived weakness has been her short and putting games, but she hit 12 of 18 greens in regulation and putted 29 times. "She hit some good chip shots and made some nice putts," Gutschewski said.

The highest finisher at the John Deere who is not already exempt for next week's British Open will earn an invitation to St. Andrews. Many of the top players have skipped this tournament to rest or arrive early at the Open.

The highest player on the money list competing here is David Toms, ranked fourth, who carded a 67. Last year's champion at Deere Run, Mark Hensby, had a 70.

Wie said she was looking forward to some relaxation. "I don't want to think about golf," she added. "I'll just watch a couple of movies tonight."



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