StarBulletin.com

Wie provided some thrills but was never really in hunt


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POSTED: Monday, June 15, 2009

HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. » Even though Michelle Wie never made a run at winning the LPGA Championship, she certainly gave her sizable galleries reason to cheer this week.

Wie opened with a 2-under 70 on Thursday, hit a hole-in-one Saturday and started her final round yesterday with an eagle on the par-4, 358-yard hole.

Never mind the three double bogeys and eight bogeys, all of which contributed to a 1-under 287 and a 23rd-place tie, 14 shots behind winner and fellow tour rookie Anna Nordqvist. As far as Wie was concerned, there was absolutely nothing to complain about.

“;I felt like I played great. I really don't think the score reflected my game,”; she said, shortly after a bogey on No. 18 capped her final-round 70.

“;I feel like I did really well, I feel like I was swinging really well. Everything felt pretty positive,”; Wie said. “;I just couldn't get anything going, and some of the putts didn't drop. A couple of sprayed shots here and there (hurt).”;

There were also some incredibly accurate shots. Her first hole-in-one as a pro came with an 8-iron on the 152-yard seventh hole Saturday. Yesterday, she put the ball in the first hole off the fairway for an eagle.

“;I think it's definitely a reflection of how good I was hitting my irons,”; Wie said. “;I thought I was going to hole a couple more today, but it's fun to start off a round like that.”;

Wie earned $18,105 yesterday to run her season total to $326,331, good enough for 16th on the money list.