ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michelle Wie answered questions from the media after winning the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship on Sunday. Following the victory, she received offers to appear on the David Letterman show, "Today" and "60 Minutes."
Less-publicized trio
leads Annika and WieHawaii's 13-year-old prodigy is at
even par after the
ShopRite Classic's first round
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. >> With Annika Sorenstam having mixed success using a new ball and phenom Michelle Wie struggling with her putter, three less-publicized players shared the first-round lead in the ShopRite LPGA Classic yesterday.
Laura Diaz, Kris Lindstrom and Angela Stanford shot 6-under 65s and held a one-shot lead over Hall of Famer Juli Inskter, who once again seems to be peaking with a defense of the U.S. Women's Open on tap next week.
The much anticipated battle between Sorenstam and Wie -- the two biggest current names in women's golf -- never materialized on a hot, humid day on the Bay Course of the Seaview Marriott Resort and Spa.
The No. 1 player in women's golf, Sorenstam shot a scrambling 1-under 70 in a round where she had trouble controlling her distance playing the new Calloway Hex-Tour ball.
Wie, the 13-year-old from Honolulu who seems to be the future for women's golf, settled for a par round after making a crowd worthy of a leader's group groan repeatedly by missing six makable birdie putts.
"Some days you are lucky and some days you are not," said Wie, who last weekend became the youngest winner of a USGA event for adults when she won the U.S. Amateur Women's Public Links Championship. "Today was one of the days I was playing good and then I had bad breaks."
The bad luck ranged from afternoon spike marks on the green to bad bounces on rolling fairways that sent balls into the rough.
Sorenstam's problem was controlling a new ball.
"It's just a hotter ball," said Sorenstam, who had five birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey. "I hit it farther. The sand wedge is normally my strength and today I was missing the greens with my sand wedge, it was flying so far."
That was very evident on the front nine when Sorenstam, who has three wins and no finish worse than sixth in eight LPGA starts, needed only 11 putts. Five were par-savers ranging in length from 3-to-10 feet.
Her back nine started out double bogey, bogey, birdie, birdie.
"It took a few holes, or maybe I should say 18, before I got used to it," said Sorenstam, who plans to use the same ball in the final two days of the 54-hole tournament, which has a $1.3 million purse. "That's what you get when you try things."
Wie had no problem finding the greens. The long-hitting 6-footer from Hawaii couldn't make putts. She missed at least six from 15 feet or less, including a 5-footer for birdie after reaching the par-5 16th with her second shot.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michelle Wie reacted after her chip lipped out on the fifth hole during the first round of the Shoprite LPGA Classic in Galloway Township, N.J., yesterday.
Diaz, Stanford and Lindstrom had no problem with their putting. All three had the advantage of playing in the morning, when the 90-plus degree temperatures weren't as oppressive as in the afternoon.
Diaz, a two-time winner last year who has been bothered by a torn tendon in her left ankle that probably will require surgery, had seven birdies and a bogey. She birdied all three of the par-5s and made four other birdie putts between 9-and-20 feet.
"I think the heat helps my ankle and loosens it," said Diaz, who has two top 10 finishes in 12 events this year.
Lindstrom, who had made 13 cuts in 46 career starts dating to 1998, had seven birdies and a bogey in her fourth event of the year. The Richfield, Minn. resident has never finished better than a tie for 23rd.
"I've been working on my swing pretty intensely and I hit some really good shots and the next shot I don't know where it's going," she said. "So it's more of wanting to get it where I have a lot of good days instead of good day, bad day, good day, bad day."
Stanford, whose best finish in 10 events has been a tie for seventh, had four birdies and an eagle, a 5-footer on No. 3 after a magnificent 3-wood.
"To tell you the truth I didn't know how I ended up there," Stanford said. "I felt like I was all over the map. Sometimes that's better for me because then I can focus on just that one shot at a time."
Inkster, who has won this event twice and posted 10 top-10 finishes, had an eagle and three birdies playing in the same group with Stanford. She rolled in a 60-footer for eagle on No. 3 minutes before Stanford made her eagle.
"I hit a lot of fairways and had a lot of chances to make birdie," said Inkster, who was second to Sorenstam here last year.
Shoprite Leaders
Purse: $1.3 million
Yardage: 6,071; Par 71 (36-35)
a-denotes amateur
First round
KLindstrom 33-32 -- 65 -6 LDiaz 33-32 -- 65 -6 AStanford 32-33 -- 65 -6 JInkster 33-33 -- 66 -5 ABurks 32-35 -- 67 -4 DD'Alessio 35-32 -- 67 -4 JMorley 35-32 -- 67 -4 HBowie 34-33 -- 67 -4 MRedman 35-32 -- 67 -4 PKerrigan 36-31 -- 67 -4 LAtsedes 36-31 -- 67 -4 Also ASorenstam 35-35 -- 70 -1 a-MWie 36-35 -- 71 E
