Hawaii News Archive - Starbulletin.com

Wie weathers the elements

POSTED: Friday, February 13, 2009

Michelle Wie defied the tradewinds yesterday afternoon like only a local golfer can to fire a 6-under 66 and shoot herself into contention after the opening round of the SBS Open at Turtle Bay.

SBS OPEN LEADERBOARD

After first round:

Player	Score	To par
Angela Stanford	65	-7
Yani Tseng	66	-6
Michelle Wie	66	-6
Kyeong Bae	67	-5
Momoko Ueda	68	-4
Notables
Juli Inkster	69	-3
Angela Park	69	-3
Paula Creamer	69	-3
Morgan Pressel	73	+1

First-day leader Angela Stanford went out early to shoot a 7-under 65, but in relative benign conditions compared to those who teed it up after lunch. Of the afternoon pairings, only Wie and Japan's Momoko Ueda (68) landed among the top-10 finishers in the opening event on the LPGA Tour.

“;Yeah, I was a little nervous,”; Wie said of teeing it up at the first hole. “;That tree (in the No. 1 fairway) looked taller than usual. I felt really excited. You know, a new beginning, a lot of excitement. I felt like, especially after Q-school and all of that, when things started going my way, I got a lot more confidence.”;

Confidence is a word Stanford became familiar with last year as well. She is part of an American girl resurgence in golf that is finally being noticed by the casual fan. With Annika Sorenstam's recent retirement and current No. 1 Lorena Ochoa showing some signs of human frailty, it's possible an American will go to the head of the class for the first time in 15 years.

World No. 3 Paula Creamer (70) is the most likely candidate for this grand prize among those born in the USA, but Stanford, a relative unknown, made a statement last year with two wins and 10 top 10s, including her final six events on the LPGA Tour.

Local golf fans caught a glimpse of the Texas Christian University graduate at last October's Kapalua Classic, where she managed a fourth-place finish en route to a No. 8 world ranking. Creamer and Cristie Kerr (No. 7) are the only Americans in front of her.

Judging by yesterday's blistering 18 holes, it appears the former Western Athletic Conference player of the year has kept her hot hand. Stanford's bogey-free round left her one shot clear of Yani Tseng (66) and Wie, and two shots removed from South Korea's Kyeong Bae (67), who is alone in fourth.

Stanford, Tseng and Bae went off early and played in relatively calm conditions compared to the afternoon when the tradewinds kicked up some dust. Granted, it rained in the morning ... even hard at times ... but not enough to keep the top players from landing in the red.

“;It was very odd,”; Stanford said of the conditions. It rained hard while she was warming up, but it stopped at her first tee. “;We teed off on No. 10, it was very calm. The wind blew at 10 and 11, and it seemed to kind of die after that, and we made the turn to one, it started to blow again. We got pretty fortunate with the tee time this morning.”;

Wie will have that same fortune blow her way today as she goes off early at 7:20 on the back nine. Her familiarity with the Arnold Palmer-designed course in windy conditions served her well as she shot the best round among those teeing up in the afternoon.

She began her career as a full-fledged member of the LPGA Tour by birdieing the first hole. She carded the first of two bogeys at No. 2, but bounced back with birdies both times to keep her in contention. The Punahou School graduate would like nothing better than to win her first professional tournament in Hawaii, but realizes she still has a long way to go.

Wie carded four birdies and one bogey on the front and four birdies and another bogey on the back. She got into a good rhythm by birdieing the final three holes.

“;It all clicked together,”; Wie said of her strong finish. “;Fortunately, like I said, overall, the round felt pretty solid.”;

As good as Wie is at 19, there are several good 20-somethings capable of great things, including Tseng. Her seven birdies and one bogey got her off to the kind of start she was looking for in 2009. Last year, as a 19-year-old, Tseng went from No. 138 in the world to No. 2 thanks to a major win at the LPGA Championship and five runner-ups.

“;I was a little bit surprised (by her ranking) because I didn't play that good to be No. 2 in the world,”; Tseng said. “;But after winning (the LPGA Championship), I knew I could play. I trust myself to be more confident.”;

SBS Open

Yesterday

At Turtle Bay Resort, Palmer Course, par 72

First Round

Angela Stanford	33-32	—	65
Yani Tseng	33-33	—	66
Michelle Wie	33-33	—	66
Kyeong Bae	33-34	—	67
Momoko Ueda	34-34	—	68
Taylor Leon	36-33	—	69
In-Kyung Kim	34-35	—	69
Jimin Kang	37-32	—	69
Teresa Lu	35-34	—	69
Juli Inkster	35-34	—	69
Angela Park	37-32	—	69
Kris Tamulis	35-35	—	70
Mika Miyazato	36-34	—	70
Paula Creamer	35-35	—	70
Hee-Won Han	36-34	—	70
Cristie Kerr	35-35	—	70
Laura Diaz	32-38	—	70
Lindsey Wright	35-35	—	70
Vicky Hurst	35-35	—	70
Jin Young Pak	35-35	—	70
Audra Burks	36-34	—	70
Angela Jerman	36-35	—	71
Stacy Prammanasudh	35-36	—	71
Brittany Lang	35-36	—	71
Jee Young Lee	37-34	—	71
Alena Sharp	37-34	—	71
Lorie Kane	36-35	—	71
Silvia Cavalleri	36-35	—	71
Janice Moodie	37-34	—	71
Hee Young Park	34-37	—	71
Na Yeon Choi	37-34	—	71
Meena Lee	36-35	—	71
Stacy Lewis	36-35	—	71
Shiho Oyama	35-36	—	71
Kelli Kuehne	37-35	—	72
Anja Monke	37-35	—	72
Meaghan Francella	35-37	—	72
Kristy McPherson	37-35	—	72
Jane Park	36-36	—	72
Jiyai Shin	34-38	—	72
Nicole Castrale	38-34	—	72
Minea Blomqvist	35-37	—	72
Ai Miyazato	37-35	—	72
Giulia Sergas	36-36	—	72
Moira Dunn	36-36	—	72
Haeji Kang	35-37	—	72
Jeanne Cho-Hunicke	37-35	—	72
Sung Ah Yim	37-35	—	72
Hee Kyung Seo	37-35	—	72
Aree Song	36-37	—	73
Charlotte Mayorkas	37-36	—	73
Sarah Lee	35-38	—	73
Suzann Pettersen	36-37	—	73
Shanshan Feng	37-36	—	73
Eun-Hee Ji	39-34	—	73
Young Kim	37-36	—	73
Il Mi Chung	38-35	—	73
Candie Kung	36-37	—	73
Heather Young	37-36	—	73
Rachel Hetherington	38-35	—	73
Wendy Ward	36-37	—	73
Michele Redman	38-35	—	73
Morgan Pressel	36-37	—	73
Song Yi Choi	37-36	—	73
Meredith Duncan	37-36	—	73
Jackie Gallagher-Smith	37-36	—	73
Sarah Jane Smith	38-35	—	73
Jennifer Rosales	35-38	—	73
Carolina Llano	37-37	—	74
Birdie Kim	35-39	—	74
Marcy Hart	36-38	—	74
Johanna Mundy	35-39	—	74
Danielle Downey	37-37	—	74
Stephanie Louden	36-38	—	74
Wendy Doolan	35-39	—	74
Karine Icher	35-39	—	74
Anna Nordqvist	37-37	—	74
Sun Young Yoo	36-38	—	74
Jill McGill	40-34	—	74
Irene Cho	35-39	—	74
Christina Kim	36-38	—	74
Natalie Gulbis	37-37	—	74
Joo Mi Kim	36-38	—	74
Mollie Fankhauser	39-35	—	74
Eva Dahllof	37-37	—	74
Linda Wessberg	39-35	—	74
Paige Mackenzie	38-36	—	74
Soo-Yun Kang	37-37	—	74
Lisa Strom	38-37	—	75
Allison Hanna-Williams	36-39	—	75
Maggie Will	37-38	—	75
Jeehae Lee	39-36	—	75
Louise Friberg	36-39	—	75
Katie Futcher	38-37	—	75
Leta Lindley	38-37	—	75
Sandra Gal	37-38	—	75
Pat Hurst	36-39	—	75
Grace Park	36-39	—	75
Anna Grzebien	39-36	—	75
Amy Yang	38-37	—	75
Na On Min	39-37	—	76
Louise Stahle	38-38	—	76
Leah Wigger	38-38	—	76
Reilley Rankin	37-39	—	76
Erica Blasberg	41-35	—	76
Russy Gulyanamitta	40-36	—	76
Na Ri Kim	40-36	—	76
Carri Wood	38-38	—	76
Allison Fouch	38-38	—	76
Kim Hall	36-40	—	76
Mindy Kim	40-36	—	76
Mikaela Parmlid	39-37	—	76
Chella Choi	39-37	—	76
Becky Lucidi	39-38	—	77
Beth Bader	39-38	—	77
Cindy Rarick	39-38	—	77
Kate Golden	40-37	—	77
Samantha Richdale	41-36	—	77
Dorothy Delasin	36-41	—	77
M.J. Hur	37-40	—	77
Jimin Jeong	39-38	—	77
Young-A Yang	41-37	—	78
Eunjung Yi	39-39	—	78
Janell Howland	39-39	—	78
Julieta Granada	39-39	—	78
H.J. Choi	39-39	—	78
Liselotte Neumann	40-38	—	78
Amy Hung	40-38	—	78
Se Ri Pak	39-40	—	79
Jamie Hullett	40-39	—	79
Michelle McGann	41-39	—	80
Michelle Ellis	40-40	—	80
Anna Rawson	43-37	—	80
Becky Iverson	40-41	—	81
Brittany Lincicome	41-40	—	81
Ha Neul Kim	41-41	—	82
Young Jo	41-44	—	85
Sophie Gustafson			WD