Wie bit closer
POSTED: Saturday, February 14, 2009
When the Rolex Rankings were first unveiled nearly three years ago, Michelle Wie was third on the list.
SBS OPEN LEADERBOARD
After second round:
|
The only two golfers in front of the 16-year-old sensation were Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer, creating a firestorm that forced the LPGA Tour to implement a modification that more fairly represented the poll's original intent.
In other words, major tweak.
Wie began this week's SBS Open at Turtle Bay at No. 236 worldwide, quite a drop that reflects how hard a road Wie has traveled since dazzling everyone with a game beyond her years. Folks only casually interested in the game went to see the 6-foot teenaged girl with the perfect swing.
But with perfection comes expectations, and as well as she played in all the major events during those days as a midteen, Wie never won one, creating that creeping doubt that has followed her around like a bad pull-cart ever since.
Now, as she enters today's final round of the last SBS Open at Turtle Bay, she has been given another chance to show she is worthy of, as Shakespeare would say, the pack of blessings that lie upon her back.
Imagine the transformation for the 19-year-old from Punahou School, finally stripping away that last piece of sticky tape and opening the package of potential once and for all. Wie was the clubhouse leader for most of yesterday's windy second round at the difficult Arnold Palmer-designed course.
Her 2-under 70 left her at 8-under 136 for the tournament and one shot clear of first-round leader Angela Stanford as she began her afternoon tour of duty in the brutal conditions. The Texan kept in touch, drawing even three holes into her second round, and then remaining at 8 under with 15 consecutive pars.
Angela Park had the best round of the day at 4-under 68 and is alone in third at 7-under 137. World No. 2 Yani Tseng, who began the second 18 tied for second with Wie at 6 under par, double bogeyed the first hole in the breezy conditions and never fully recovered with a 3-over 75.
Japan's Momoko Ueda (71) is alone in fourth at 5-under 139 with Tseng, Brittany Lang (70), and tour rookies Stacy Lewis (70) and Vicky Hurst (71) tied for fifth at 3-under 141.
But all eyes will be on Wie, not only locally, but worldwide as well to see if she can win for the first time since she was 13 in her 49th tour event.
“;It feels good,”; Wie said of being in contention. “;I mean, I didn't really feel like I'm on top of the leaderboard or anything right now. I'm just glad I played a good round today and I'm just really excited to come back home and play in front of my home crowd again. I think tomorrow will be another fun day.”;
For someone who always wanted to be first and make history as a young teen, Wie is taking a more subtle approach about being in today's final pairing. The last time she was in this position was at the Evian Masters in 2006—something she didn't recall—but conceded a win would be huge just the same.
“;I just don't want to get that ingrained in my head just yet,”; Wie said. “;I feel like everyone has been asking me that, and it's still a day left, and I just want to do the same thing, play as hard as I can and obviously (winning) would mean a lot. So, I'm just going to try to have fun out there.”;
Stanford didn't have a lot of fun, but still managed to keep it close by not taking too many chances. For her, par was good enough to maintain at least a share of the lead after shooting 65 on Thursday.
“;I think that might have been one of the toughest rounds I can remember in a long time,”; Stanford said. “;At one point on No. 6, I was having flashbacks to Turnberry in '02 (at the Women's British Open). Literally, I was having a hard time keeping the umbrella even sideways. You want to give yourself as many chances as possible for birdie, but par is not bad at all.”;
As for playing with Wie, well, Stanford knows what to expect. Last year when she won in Mexico, she had to take on world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa on her home soil. The biggest difference today is Wie will be in the final pairing for her. In Mexico, Ochoa was not.
“;I've never played with Michelle, so I don't really know what to expect,”; Stanford said. “;I'm sure there will be a lot of people out. I'm sure she will be excited, but at the same time I'm just kind of doing my deal. I like it. It's fun because you know they're pulling for her, but that doesn't mean they're pulling against me.”;
SBS Open
Yesterday
At Turtle Bay Resort, Palmer Course, par 72
Second round
| Michelle Wie | 66-70 | — | 136 | -8 | |
| Angela Stanford | 65-71 | — | 136 | -8 | |
| Angela Park | 69-68 | — | 137 | -7 | |
| Momoko Ueda | 68-71 | — | 139 | -5 | |
| Stacy Lewis | 71-70 | — | 141 | -3 | |
| Brittany Lang | 71-70 | — | 141 | -3 | |
| Vicky Hurst | 70-71 | — | 141 | -3 | |
| Yani Tseng | 66-75 | — | 141 | -3 | |
| Ai Miyazato | 72-70 | — | 142 | -2 | |
| Hee Kyung Seo | 72-71 | — | 143 | -1 | |
| Na Yeon Choi | 71-72 | — | 143 | -1 | |
| Jee Young Lee | 71-72 | — | 143 | -1 | |
| Paula Creamer | 70-73 | — | 143 | -1 | |
| Taylor Leon | 69-74 | — | 143 | -1 | |
| Wendy Ward | 73-71 | — | 144 | E | |
| Eun-Hee Ji | 73-71 | — | 144 | E | |
| Hee Young Park | 71-73 | — | 144 | E | |
| Jin Young Pak | 70-74 | — | 144 | E | |
| Juli Inkster | 69-75 | — | 144 | E | |
| Natalie Gulbis | 74-71 | — | 145 | + | 1 |
| Johanna Mundy | 74-71 | — | 145 | + | 1 |
| Michele Redman | 73-72 | — | 145 | + | 1 |
| Sarah Lee | 73-72 | — | 145 | + | 1 |
| Kristy McPherson | 72-73 | — | 145 | + | 1 |
| Jane Park | 72-73 | — | 145 | + | 1 |
| Anja Monke | 72-73 | — | 145 | + | 1 |
| Janice Moodie | 71-74 | — | 145 | + | 1 |
| Hee-Won Han | 70-75 | — | 145 | + | 1 |
| Cristie Kerr | 70-75 | — | 145 | + | 1 |
| Sun Young Yoo | 74-72 | — | 146 | + | 2 |
| Candie Kung | 73-73 | — | 146 | + | 2 |
| Suzann Pettersen | 73-73 | — | 146 | + | 2 |
| Nicole Castrale | 72-74 | — | 146 | + | 2 |
| Meena Lee | 71-75 | — | 146 | + | 2 |
| Laura Diaz | 70-76 | — | 146 | + | 2 |
| Kyeong Bae | 67-79 | — | 146 | + | 2 |
| Reilley Rankin | 76-71 | — | 147 | + | 3 |
| Anna Grzebien | 75-72 | — | 147 | + | 3 |
| Pat Hurst | 75-72 | — | 147 | + | 3 |
| Shanshan Feng | 73-74 | — | 147 | + | 3 |
| Minea Blomqvist | 72-75 | — | 147 | + | 3 |
| Kris Tamulis | 70-77 | — | 147 | + | 3 |
| Jimin Kang | 69-78 | — | 147 | + | 3 |
| Teresa Lu | 69-78 | — | 147 | + | 3 |
| Maggie Will | 75-73 | — | 148 | + | 4 |
| Stephanie Louden | 74-74 | — | 148 | + | 4 |
| Sung Ah Yim | 72-76 | — | 148 | + | 4 |
| Giulia Sergas | 72-76 | — | 148 | + | 4 |
| Meaghan Francella | 72-76 | — | 148 | + | 4 |
| Stacy Prammanasudh | 71-77 | — | 148 | + | 4 |
| In-Kyung Kim | 69-79 | — | 148 | + | 4 |
| M.J. Hur | 77-72 | — | 149 | + | 5 |
| Russy Gulyanamitta | 76-73 | — | 149 | + | 5 |
| Grace Park | 75-74 | — | 149 | + | 5 |
| Katie Futcher | 75-74 | — | 149 | + | 5 |
| Jackie Gallagher-Smith | 73-76 | — | 149 | + | 5 |
| Morgan Pressel | 73-76 | — | 149 | + | 5 |
| Moira Dunn | 72-77 | — | 149 | + | 5 |
| Silvia Cavalleri | 71-78 | — | 149 | + | 5 |
| Amy Hung | 78-72 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Allison Fouch | 76-74 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Louise Stahle | 76-74 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Lisa Strom | 75-75 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Linda Wessberg | 74-76 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Paige Mackenzie | 74-76 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Jill McGill | 74-76 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Christina Kim | 74-76 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Carolina Llano | 74-76 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Birdie Kim | 74-76 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Wendy Doolan | 74-76 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Anna Nordqvist | 74-76 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Sarah Jane Smith | 73-77 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Jennifer Rosales | 73-77 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Heather Young | 73-77 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Il Mi Chung | 73-77 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Aree Song | 73-77 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Kelli Kuehne | 72-78 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Shiho Oyama | 71-79 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Alena Sharp | 71-79 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Lorie Kane | 71-79 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Audra Burks | 70-80 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Lindsey Wright | 70-80 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
| Mika Miyazato | 70-80 | — | 150 | + | 6 |
Failed to Qualify
| Mikaela Parmlid | 76-75 | — | 151 | + | 7 |
| Jeehae Lee | 75-76 | — | 151 | + | 7 |
| Joo Mi Kim | 74-77 | — | 151 | + | 7 |
| Mollie Fankhauser | 74-77 | — | 151 | + | 7 |
| Soo-Yun Kang | 74-77 | — | 151 | + | 7 |
| Karine Icher | 74-77 | — | 151 | + | 7 |
| Song Yi Choi | 73-78 | — | 151 | + | 7 |
| Rachel Hetherington | 73-78 | — | 151 | + | 7 |
| Young Kim | 73-78 | — | 151 | + | 7 |
| Charlotte Mayorkas | 73-78 | — | 151 | + | 7 |
| Haeji Kang | 72-79 | — | 151 | + | 7 |
| Anna Rawson | 80-72 | — | 152 | + | 8 |
| Louise Friberg | 75-77 | — | 152 | + | 8 |
| Leta Lindley | 75-77 | — | 152 | + | 8 |
| Allison Hanna-Williams | 75-77 | — | 152 | + | 8 |
| Irene Cho | 74-78 | — | 152 | + | 8 |
| Angela Jerman | 71-81 | — | 152 | + | 8 |
| Se Ri Pak | 79-74 | — | 153 | + | 9 |
| Liselotte Neumann | 78-75 | — | 153 | + | 9 |
| Eva Dahllof | 74-79 | — | 153 | + | 9 |
| Jiyai Shin | 72-81 | — | 153 | + | 9 |
| Young-A Yang | 78-76 | — | 154 | + | 10 |
| Jimin Jeong | 77-77 | — | 154 | + | 10 |
| Leah Wigger | 76-78 | — | 154 | + | 10 |
| Sandra Gal | 75-79 | — | 154 | + | 10 |
| Marcy Hart | 74-80 | — | 154 | + | 10 |
| H.J. Choi | 78-77 | — | 155 | + | 11 |
| Eunjung Yi | 78-77 | — | 155 | + | 11 |
| Kate Golden | 77-78 | — | 155 | + | 11 |
| Kim Hall | 76-79 | — | 155 | + | 11 |
| Na On Min | 76-79 | — | 155 | + | 11 |
| Carri Wood | 76-79 | — | 155 | + | 11 |
| Amy Yang | 75-80 | — | 155 | + | 11 |
| Meredith Duncan | 73-82 | — | 155 | + | 11 |
| Michelle Ellis | 80-76 | — | 156 | + | 12 |
| Michelle McGann | 80-76 | — | 156 | + | 12 |
| Julieta Granada | 78-78 | — | 156 | + | 12 |
| Cindy Rarick | 77-79 | — | 156 | + | 12 |
| Mindy Kim | 76-80 | — | 156 | + | 12 |
| Chella Choi | 76-80 | — | 156 | + | 12 |
| Erica Blasberg | 76-80 | — | 156 | + | 12 |
| Danielle Downey | 74-82 | — | 156 | + | 12 |
| Janell Howland | 78-79 | — | 157 | + | 13 |
| Dorothy Delasin | 77-80 | — | 157 | + | 13 |
| Brittany Lincicome | 81-77 | — | 158 | + | 14 |
| Samantha Richdale | 77-81 | — | 158 | + | 14 |
| Ha Neul Kim | 82-77 | — | 159 | + | 15 |
| Jamie Hullett | 79-80 | — | 159 | + | 15 |
| Becky Lucidi | 77-82 | — | 159 | + | 15 |
| Jeanne Cho-Hunicke | 72-87 | — | 159 | + | 15 |
| Becky Iverson | 81-79 | — | 160 | + | 16 |
| Beth Bader | 77-84 | — | 161 | + | 17 |
| Young Jo | 85-78 | — | 163 | + | 19 |
| Na Ri Kim | 76 | — | WD |
Tee No. 1
Start time: 8:40 a.m.
Shanshan Feng, Minea Blomqvist, Kris Tamulis
Start time: 8:50 a.m.
Railey Rankin, Pat Hurst, Anna Grzebien
Start time: 9:00 a.m.
Meena Lee, Laura Diaz, Kyeong Bae
Start time: 9:10 a.m.
Suzann Pettersen, Candie Kung, Nicole Castrale
Start time: 9:20 a.m.
Cristie Kerr, Hee-Won Han, Sun Young Yoo
Start time: 9:30 a.m.
Anja Monke, Jane Park, Janice Moodie
Start time: 9:40 a.m.
Sarah Lee, Michele Redman, Kristy McPherson
Start time: 9:50 a.m.
Juli Inkster, Johanna Mundy, Natalie Gulbis
Start time: 10:00 a.m.
Eun-Hee Ji, Hee Young Park, Jin Young Pak
Start time: 10:10 a.m.
Paula Creamer, Taylor Leon, Wendy Ward
Start time: 10:20 a.m.
Hee Kyung Seo, Jee Young Lee, Na Yeon Choi
Start time: 10:30a.m.
Vicky Hurst, Yani Tseng, Ai Miyazato
Start time: 10:40 a.m.
Momoko Ueda, Brittany Lang, Stacy Lewis
Start time: 10:50 a.m.
Michelle Wie, Angela Stanford, Angela Park
Tee No. 10
Start time: 8:40 a.m.
Teresa Lu, Jimin Kang, Maggie Will
Start time: 8:50 a.m.
Stephanie Louden, Giulia Sergas, Sung Ah Yim
Start time: 9:00 a.m.
Meaghan Francella, Stacy Prammanasudh, In-Kyung Kim
Start time: 9:10 a.m.
M.J. Hur, Russy Gulyanamitta, Grace Park
Start time: 9:20 a.m.
Katie Futcher, Morgan Pressel, Jackie Gallagher-Smith
Start time: 9:30 a.m.
Moira Dunn, Silvia Cavalleri, Amy Hung
Start time: 9:40 a.m.
Louise Stahle, Allison Fouch, Lisa Strom
Start time: 9:50 a.m.
Jill McGill, Paige MacKenzie, Linda Wessberg
Start time: 10:00 a.m.
Birdie Kim, Carolina Liano, Christina Kim
Start time: 10:10 a.m.
Anna Nordqvist, Wendy Doolan, Sarah Jane Smith
Start time: 10:20 a.m.
Il Mi Chung, Heather Young, Jennifer Rosales
Start time: 10:30 a.m.
Aree Song, Kelli Kuehne, Shiho Oyama
Start time: 10:40 a.m.
Lorie Kane, Alena Sharp, Audra Burks
Start time: 10:50 a.m.
Mika Miyazato, Lindsey Wright
