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Another milestone By 5:30 p.m., Michelle Wie had enough of making history for one long day.
for Michelle Wie
The 12-year-old is the first female
to win a Manoa Cup matchBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comAfter trudging 36 holes in 10 hours and whacking mammoth drives and drilling clutch putts at the hilly Oahu Country Club yesterday, the golf Wunderkind was most interested in making her feet feel better.
"I bet when I take off my shoes they'll be all black and blue," said Wie, in the soft voice that belies her game but reminds you she is all of 12 years old.
She had just fallen in the Manoa Cup's second round to Del-Marc Fujita, but only after 20 holes. While her feet throbbed, they were a reminder of the day as a whole. And a good day for her it was.
Seven hours earlier, Wie became the first female -- and the youngest person, period -- to win a match at the venerable tournament that determines the Hawaii state amateur match-play champion.
Wie, who qualified but lost in the first round last year, beat Sam Oishi 4 and 2 yesterday morning. She took a one-hole lead on the first nine (they started on the back) and steadily increased the margin.
She made it look easy against Oishi, 54, who said he "ran out of energy."
"When you get tired, you make short putts and short approach shots," the veteran of 15 Manoa Cups said. "Usually my game is approach and putt."
When Wie is going right she doesn't seem to need an approach shot. When you drive to within 15 yards of the cup, as Wie did on the 281-yard, par-4 No. 5 hole, you don't need to. Her chip left her with a one-footer for birdie, and Oishi's comeback hopes died right there.
After lunch, the precocious but humble Punahou seventh-grader began by making it look simple and spectacular against Fujita, too. She went 3-up on the front nine, running her bogey-free streak to 19 while Fujita struggled with his putter.
But the former USC player from Kauai didn't give up. He couldn't.
"If I lost, I knew the phone wouldn't stop ringing," Fujita said.
He hit more drivers on the back nine. The extra distance -- plus his penchant for punching successful recovery shots through trees when he missed the fairways -- helped him back into the match.
But the real key was when he popped an 8-iron off the 198-yard No. 11 tee to within one foot of the cup. The birdie gave Fujita his first hole of the afternoon and Wie began to question herself.
"When I lost my first hole, I lost a little confidence," she said.
Fujita took another hole immediately when Wie bogeyed No. 12. Later, Fujita nearly drove the green of the 344-yard par 4 No. 17, chipped to within 18 inches and birdied to tie the match.
Both sprayed their drives on the second sudden-death hole, the 446-yard, par-5 No. 2; Fujita hit into a water obstacle to the left and Wie's ball ended up nestled unplayable between two rocks.
Both took penalty strokes and both made the green in four. But Wie missed her 18-foot putt while Fujita rolled in his 8-footer for the match.
"She's a tremendous player. Not just for 12, for any age," Fujita said. "If she was going to college now she'd be in line for a free ride at a big-time school."
Wie admitted to tiring toward the end.
"Yeah, I was 50 yards behind Del by the end," she said.
But only in walking. Her drives kept pace all the way.
Fujita, who beat Paul Kimura 4 and 3 in the first round, was scheduled to tee off against Junior Agpaoa in this morning's round of 16.
This morning's other third-round matches had Steven Nguyen (who beat defending champion Ryan Koshi 1-up in yesterday's second round) against Troy Higashiyama, Hee Beom Kim taking on Shannon Tanoue, Damien Victorino playing Garrett Okamura, and Wade Nakamura going up against Gary Kong.
Other matches had four-time champion Brandan Kop against Joe Phengsavath, Randy Shibuya meeting Kurt Nino and Travis Toyama playing Kristofer Baptist.