ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michelle Wie gave a thumbs-up sign before teeing off from the first hole at Highland Meadows Golf Club yesterday.
Wie prepares
for tricky course
at Farr Classic
SYLVANIA, Ohio >> Teen sensation Michelle Wie arrived early for the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic and found out that she won't be able to pull out her powerful driver on every hole.
Wie played three practice rounds before yesterday's celebrity pro-am and found the course at Highland Meadows Golf Club to be a little tricky.
"No way will I be able to hit driver on every hole here," she said. "There are a lot of holes where position is more important than length."
Wie learned that the hard way during her first practice round.
"I don't remember the hole, but one is a severe dogleg left to right," she said. "I hit it into the cars."
She didn't break any windows, but her ball got scraped up.
The 13-year-old from Honolulu will likely be the center of attention at the tournament this week.
The tour's top two players, Annika Sorenstam and Gloria Park, are taking the week off, as are four of the other top 10 money winners on the 2003 tour.
Wie has been pushed into the spotlight with her 300-yard drives. She became the youngest player to win a USGA title for adults at the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links in June.
She said all of the attention hasn't affected her game.
"I don't really pay attention to it," Wie said. "I've gotten pretty used to it by now."
Looking to regain her form, Wie played a round with a few members of the Highland Meadows club earlier this week and picked up a few tips.
"They helped me on some holes because they told me where the green was and where to hit it and where the fairway was the widest," she said.
Wie said she also has been working on her putting, which cost her at the U.S. Women's Amateur earlier this month.
"I've been working really hard on my putting because that's the reason I lost the first match," she said. "I think it's getting better."
