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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michelle Wie shot a 78 today at the CJ Nine Bridges Classic and sits in last place.
Wie improves,
but still sits in last
JEJU ISLAND, South Korea >> Hawaii's Michelle Wie shot a 6-over-par 78 today at the CJ Nine Bridges Classic -- a seven-stroke improvement over her opening round, but still not enough to get her out of last place in the field of 69.
The 14-year-old Punahou freshman sits five strokes back of her nearest competitor and 27 strokes back of 17-year-old leader Ahn Shi-hyun on the 6,306-yard Club at Nine Bridges on the resort island of Jeju.
In a round featuring two double-bogeys and eight bogeys Wie's day have a silver lining. She closed with an eagle, two of her three birdies and two pars and will try to carry that momentum into tomorrow's final round.
Ahn, a South Korean rookie, will attempt to continue her hot play and go wire to wire for the win. She followed up her opening-round 65 with a solid 71. Her lead increased from one stroke to three. She leads a pack of four golfers -- defending champion Se Ri Pak, Grace Park, Laura Davies and Catriona Matthew.
Pak followed her opening 69 with a 70. Today's best score was a 67 by Lorena Ochoa.
The field of 69 includes 50 players form the LPGA Tour.
Goosen out in front:At Palm Harbor, Fla., a poor finish last week might work out just fine for Retief Goosen, who decided to stay in Florida instead going to Spain and wound up the 36-hole leader yesterday in the Chrysler Championship.
Goosen had a 5-under 66 in increasingly blustery conditions at Innisbrook, giving him a one-shot lead over Jose Coceres (68) and J.J. Henry (67).
Goosen, who splits time between the PGA Tour and European tour, was at 7-under 135 on a Copperhead course that continued to put up a strong fight against par.
Only 23 players remained under par. The cut was at 3 over, matching the highest of the year in non-majors.
Charles Howell III, the first-round leader, scratched out an even-par 71 and had few complaints. He was at 137, along with Chad Campbell and Jerry Kelly, who each shot 69.
"There is no really great birdie holes out there that you can get one or two back," Howell said. "Every little birdie goes a long way."
Vijay Singh, who can clinch the PGA Tour money title with a victory this week, had another 70 and was five strokes out of the lead.
The final full-field event on the PGA Tour is all about making enough money to either get into the Tour Championship (top 30 on the money list), the Masters (top 40) or keeping full playing rights next year (top 125).
Goosen was poised to lock up a spot in the Tour Championship last week, just four strokes out of the lead going into the final round at Disney. But he closed with a 73, wound up in a tie for 18th and was only 26th on the money list.
The former U.S. Open champion gave up a trip to Spain for the season-ending Volvo Masters on the European tour, wanting to make sure he qualified for the $6 million tournament next week in Houston.
"If I would have had a good round last week, I might have gone back to Europe," Goosen said. "But since I can't win the Order of Merit this year, I thought I could get into the top 30 or get a win."
Despite morning breezes that became stronger by the hour, and greens that became firm under a blazing sun, Goosen rolled along with lots of birdies and hardly any mistakes.
By the end of the afternoon, several players were simply trying to survive.
Rocco Mediate, at No. 30 on the money list, has an aching back and didn't come close to making the cut. He shot 74 to miss it by seven strokes.
PGA champion Shaun Micheel (No. 31) only had to make the cut to pass over Mediate and get into the Tour Championship. He needed two birdies over the final four holes, but instead made two bogeys and shot 74.
Bob Estes (No. 33) shot 69 and can move into the top 30 with a good weekend. Ditto for Briny Baird (No. 34), who shot 66 and was only three shots behind Goosen.
Phil Mickelson ended his season on a dour note with rounds of 80-74 to miss the cut. He will miss the Tour Championship for the first time since he started playing a full PGA Tour schedule in 1993. The next time he'll play for money is at the Skins Game.
Among those trying to keep their cards, there were plenty of long faces yesterday.
Per-Ulrik Johansson, smack on the bubble at No. 125, shot 73 and missed the cut by five shots, then stormed out of the scoring trailer.
He was assured of missing his card when Glen Hnatiuk of Canada shot 68 to make the cut with three shots to spare; even last-place money will be enough for Hnatiuk to move past Johansson.
One guy who doesn't have to worry about it is Henry, who is 100th on the money list. A victory wouldn't put him in the Tour Championship or the Masters, and "if I tank it on the weekend, that doesn't hurt my position."
"I have nothing to lose," he said.
Weather halts Volvo Masters: At Sotogrande, Spain, Heavy rain and strong wind forced play to be called off yesterday at the Volvo Masters, the European tour's season-ending golf event.
Dry weather is forecast for today and tomorrow, but tournament director David Garland said the event might finish Monday.
Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson shot an 8-under-par 64 Thursday to take the first-round lead.
