Budding rivals Wie and Pressel to partner today

There is no truth to the rumor that Michelle Wie and Morgan Pressel will beef it out tonight as a late addition to the mixed martial arts rumble-fest.

They are, however, scheduled this morning to fire the first on-course salvos of what could become a long and exciting professional golf rivalry -- fittingly at an inaugural event, the Fields Open in Hawaii at Ko Olina Resort.

Teenagers Wie of Honolulu and Pressel of Boca Raton, Fla., will play together, along with veteran Sherri Turner, in today's final round. They tee off at 10:30 a.m.

Wie, the Punahou School junior, pieced together a 2-under-par 70 in yesterday's second round. It was not nearly as good as her first-round 67.

But barring some major misfortune, like she had in her DQ at the Samsung World Championship last October, Wie will earn the first prize-money paycheck of her career today.

Her first win as a pro will probably have to come some other time. Wie was seven strokes off the pace and tied for ninth with five others, including Pressel, after yesterday.

Although Wie is capable of great strings of birdies, there are just too many players between her and the championship today. She needed to start the run yesterday but had a tough time judging the speed of the Ko Olina greens.

At times she seemed on the verge of something special -- especially since she was hitting her driver and approach shots well in the nearly windless conditions.

"Today, I just really couldn't get things going," said Wie, who had five birdies but also three bogeys, "but I still feel good about my game. I still feel confident and I'll be ready for tomorrow."

Wie and Pressel had better both be ready for a huge crowd.

Their group will surely draw a larger gallery than that of leader Seon Hwa Lee (13 under), even considering the presence of the photogenic and charismatic Natalie Gulbis (second at 11 under).

Whatever exposure the LPGA lost with its brief spat with the media earlier this week could be made up by fans coming to see two of golf's "Wunderkinder" -- budding stars on a collision course. (They did meet before, in 2003 at the U.S. Girls' Junior Amateur's third round. Pressel won, 3 and 2.)

Wie, 16, and Pressel, 17, could bring about a Nicklaus vs. Palmer, Bird vs. Magic kind of dynamic never seen before on the LPGA Tour.

They are two kids from opposite ends of the country who seem to have little in common other than freakish proficiency and potential in golf and the passion to make the most of it.

Pressel has not been shy about her thoughts on the special treatment Wie has received from tournament directors and sponsors who compete for her presence at their events. They know Wie is a huge draw, but Pressel and others do not have to like the fact that she has her choice of exemptions and millions in endorsement dollars.

Pressel's ascent -- although not completely orthodox, since she successfully challenged the LPGA's age requirement -- has been more traditional than that of Wie, who plays in men's events and plans to continue doing so.

While both say they do not dislike each other, many have implied and inferred that these two will not be hanging out at the mall together any time soon.

Wie said she is cordial with Pressel and Paula Creamer, despite being portrayed as otherwise.

"We are on good terms," Wie said this week. "They're actually really good people. I'm really glad to get to know them."

Pressel has done her best to avoid disrespecting the local girl this week.

Wie's name did not come up when she was baited for her opinion on the Rolex World Rankings -- a list that some veterans consider a worthless knockoff for rating winless Wie at No. 3, behind only Sorenstam and Creamer.

Pressel is not in the rankings yet, only because of a technicality. She will soon appear on the list, probably somewhere near Wie's lofty station.

Pressel said she knows how highly anticipated today's pairing is.

"I've heard some comments about Michelle. Or somebody on the range last week asked if I was practicing to get ready to play Michelle. And another guy today ... was talking about how they've been flooded with Michelle Wie in Hawaii," Pressel said.

How irritating will it be for her when Wie gets bigger applause for a par than Pressel does for a birdie?

"There will be people watching her," Pressel said, "and there will probably be people watching me."

Today, most will be rooting for Wie -- but they will all be watching both.