Wie misses cut, will try again next week

CRANS-SUR-SIERRE, Switzerland » Michelle Wie didn't just fail to make the cut in her latest men's tournament. She finished dead last.

Wie struggled to an 8-over 79 yesterday at the European Masters, missing the cut at a men's event for the ninth time in 10 attempts.

The 16-year-old Punahou student, who shot a 78 in Thursday's first round, finished at 15-over 157 -- last of the 152 players who completed 36 holes. She was 22 shots off the lead shared by Andrew McLardy (65), Bradley Dredge (67) and Marcel Siem (67).

"I'm still in shock," Wie said. "I didn't know what sport I was playing out there. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed again. I really just couldn't get anything going."

After bogeys on her first two holes yesterday, Wie took double-bogey 7s on successive par 5s. Starting her round at the 10th, she hit her third shot into the middle of the lake at the 598-yard 14th.

Then Wie drove out of bounds at the 15th.

Sergio Garcia, the defending champion and tournament favorite, shot 69 and shared fifth place at 5-under. The Spaniard began with an eagle 3 on a 55-foot putt, then bogeyed the next three before a birdie at the 5th.

Wie said she looks forward to playing better against the men next week at the 84 Lumber Classic in Farmington, Pa.

"Now that I played a tournament this week, I feel I know what sport I'm playing," she said. "I'm really motivated for next week."

She expects her coach, David Leadbetter, to join her at the event.

"It makes me want to come back and show that I'm a better player than this," she said. "My view is that to get better on the men's tour and to be a better player, I have to keep playing men's events.

"If I just play women's events, I only get better at women's events. I feel I have a good balance now."