DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. » With little fanfare and even less to say, Michelle Wie took an important first step yesterday toward earning an LPGA Tour card by opening with a 3-under 69 in the 90-hole qualifying tournament.

It was her first competitive round since Sept. 19, when she advanced out of the first stage of Q-school in California.

Playing on the tougher Legends course at LPGA International, the 19-year-old Punahou graduate kept it simple during a mild and breezy afternoon on a course where trouble lurks amid marshes and thick palmetto bushes. She hit only four drivers - none on the par 5s - and her only bogey came on a three-putt from 25 feet on the par-5 14th, when she was fooled by the speed.

“;If there's anything such as a stress-free round, this is it,”; swing coach David Leadbetter said.

Shiho Oyama of Japan led with a 64 on the more open, forgiving Champions course. Wie rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole, her longest putt of the day, and she was tied for sixth with a group that included former NCAA champion Stacy Lewis, who played on the Champions course.

Wie and Audra Burks (69) were the only players to break 70 on the Legends course.

As she did in the first stage, Wie declined to speak to reporters until the tourney is over.

Perhaps the best part of her opening round was that it included no drama. Considering what Wie has gone through over the last two troublesome years, that's something she could do without.

“;Just an easy round of golf,”; Leadbetter said.

No one imagined she would ever be at Q-school, not with enough talent to shoot 68 on the PGA Tour at age 14 and contend for LPGA major championships while still in high school.

In some respects, her unlikely journey took root just 30 minutes down the road from LPGA International.

This is Wie's first competition in this part of Florida since she won the 2003 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links at Ocean Hammock, becoming at 13 the youngest winner of a USGA championship for adults.

She turned pro a week before her 16th birthday in 2005 and pulled in close to $20 million in endorsement and earnings her first year, becoming one of the biggest stars in women's golf without having won a tournament. Wie drew the biggest galleries at LPGA Tour events, and even some of the PGA Tour events she played.

But her crash was as spectacular as her rise, and Wie went 14 consecutive tournaments without breaking 70 as she tried to play with wrist injuries and continued to test herself against the men.