Wie struggles despite
strong start at Publinx
PALM COAST, Fla. >> Michelle Wie, the 13-year-old golf prodigy from Hawaii, shot a 1-over 73 yesterday and was five shots behind leader Beth Allen after the first round of qualifying at the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship.
The 68 by Allen, a senior at Cal State-Northridge who won the Big West Conference tournament last month, was her lowest competitive round.
Tina Miller, the Big East tournament co-champion from Miami, was two shots behind Allen.
Wie got off to a quick start, launching a 310-yard drive on the par-5 10th hole to set up a two-putt birdie, then added birdies at Nos. 11 and 14 to go to 3 under through five holes at Ocean Hammock Golf Club.
However, she three-putted for bogey at No. 17, double-bogeyed No. 18 after driving the ball near a bush on the right of the fairway, and double-bogeyed No. 5 after hitting her tee shot in the water.
Wie recovered with a birdie and three pars, making a 6-foot putt to save par at her last hole, the par-4 ninth.
Wie finished tied for ninth in the Nabisco Championship, the LPGA Tour's first major this year.
She is playing in the Public Links for the fourth time, having first qualified at the age of 10 in 1999. She already has qualified to play in the U.S. Women's Open, the U.S. Women's Amateur and the U.S. Girls Junior, all later this summer, and has played in two LPGA events.
"People expect a lot of me, but I'm not really listening to that," Wie said. "I expect more out of myself than they could."
Pearl City's Mari Chun was the top local player, shooting a 72. Other Hawaii participants were: Amanda Wilson of Hilo, 73; Punahou student Stephanie Kono, 76; Kira-Ann Murashige of Hilo, 78; Jayna Shimomura of Kula, Maui, 82; Kimberly Kim of Hilo, 83; Desiree Ting of Wailuku, 86; Jennie Pleas of Lihue, 89; and Meilin Poai of Kapaa, Kauai, 91.
Woods calls for testing of drivers: Higher and longer is better in golf, and advances in equipment have allowed top professionals and amateur weekend players alike to hit the ball farther.
But are some of the pros' drivers too good, at least in the sense that they do not conform to regulations established by the U.S. Golf Association? That question will not be answered in any definitive way this week at the Buick Classic because clubs are not tested at the sites of tournaments. Many players, Tiger Woods included, say that must change.
"Everyone should be tested, period, first tee, every day," Woods said after the U.S. Open ended Sunday at Olympia Fields, Ill. "I talked to the commissioner about that. I'm a big proponent of that."
The Associated Press and the New York Times contributed to this report.