EVIAN MASTERS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michelle Wie didn't help her cause yesterday when she suffered three double bogeys on the front nine on the way to a 12-over 84.
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Wie’s woes return in third round
By Susanne Kemper / Special to the Star-Bulletin
EVIAN-LES BAINS, France » The momentum Michelle Wie built on Friday with her first under-par round of 2007 quickly evaporated on the front nine of yesterday's $3 million Evian Masters for the 17-year-old Punahou School graduate.
Three double bogeys on the opening nine holes led to a 12-over 84, a score Wie has become quite familiar with since injuring her wrists over the last nine months. It left her only three players removed from the bottom of the field entering today's final 18 holes.
"On seven I pulled my drive left, then hit a 6-iron right, but got a bad bounce ending up in front of the 150-yard bush," Wie explained. It was her second straight double bogey at the par-5 hole. "I chipped out, then pushed my 8-iron right, another chip and two putts."
Her play on seven summed up a difficult day. Wie managed one birdie on the par-5 ninth, closing the front out at 7-over 42. The return wasn't any better with another 42. Bogeys at Nos. 10 and 11, followed by another double bogey at the 12th, left Wie trying to explain her recent downfall in golf.
"Today, there was a very fine line between good holes and bad holes," Wie said. "It seems like only a couple of shots were off line and it seems like those shots unfortunately became tragically disastrous. I just have to get back on line and get the ball back in the fairway. The greens were trickier, I need to hole some putts."
Wie has worked hard this week on her putting, but the greens at the Evian Golf and Country Club Course have proved difficult for her. She is also having trouble controlling her driver, something that has become apparent over the last few months.
"Very frustrating today," Wie said. "I was out of sync; my body wouldn't do what my mind wanted it to do. I felt a little bit out of whack today. I didn't feel like my normal self. This is what happens when you recover, you have some bad days and some good ones."
Blue skies, warm sunshine and some swirling winds greeted the 72 players who made the cut, but Wie wouldn't offer that as an excuse.
"I grew up in Hawaii and the winds don't really affect me," Wie said. "It just made the greens tougher. My wrist is getting better, a little sting now and then. I have been working on rhythm and tempo and trying to get the old feelings back; a work in progress. Hopefully tomorrow, I'm going to get back on line, back on track and shoot a really low score."