Late collapse leaves Wie at 70

A couple of hiccups at the end of yesterday's LPGA State Farm Classic in Springfield, Ill., dropped Honolulu's Michelle Wie from a possible top-five finish all the way down to a tie for 36th.

Despite back-to-back bogeys to close her opening round, Wie still shot a 2-under 70 that left her four shots off the pace of first-day leaders Jee Young Lee and Se Ri Pak.

Teeing it up at No. 10 in the early afternoon, Wie played the back nine in 2-under 34. The Punahou School graduate began her round with six consecutive pars, then got hot with the putter. Starting at the par-5 16th (her seventh), Wie birdied four of the next five, including the opening two of her back nine, to play her way into contention.

The Stanford University sophomore hit seven fairways and 10 greens in regulation, and needed 29 putts. She averaged 276.5 yards off the tee.

McLachlin to the rescue

Former Punahou golfer Parker McLachlin has stepped in to donate funds to the Hawaii High School Hall of Honor's Class of 2009. All 12 inductees will receive a $2,000 scholarship.

“;That's great. We're so grateful that he was able to step up and help us out in this time of need,”; said Keith Amemiya, executive director of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association. The HHSAA, a non-profit organization, coordinates the Hall of Honor.

Two weeks ago, the Hall announced that sponsorship funding was not available to inductees this year due to the struggling economy. McLachlin, a professional golfer, was inducted to the Hall in 1997.

“;That's why he did it. He wants to support fellow honorees,”; Amemiya said.

The Hall will host its annual banquet to celebrate the new class on Sunday at the Sheraton Waikiki. ESPN's Neil Everett will be the speaker.

UNLV a staple on UH schedule

A shuffle in its 2011 schedule will give the Hawaii football team two Seattle-Las Vegas road trips in three years.

This fall, the Warriors play Washington State at Qwest Field on Sept. 12 and at UNLV on Sept. 19.

They'll take the same route two years later as UH's game at UNLV in 2011 was moved to Sept. 17, to follow the Warriors' game at Washington.

UH has also set games with UNLV for Sept. 13, 2014, Oct. 3, 2015, Sept. 16, 2017 and Sept. 8, 2018.

Two-game trips have become a regular feature of UH schedules. Along with 2009 and 2011, the Warriors have back-to-back road games scheduled for 2010 (Army, Colorado) and 2012 (USC, BYU).

Academic award for Wichmann

Hawaii's Annett Wichmann was selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District women's track & field/cross country team yesterday.

Wichmann is Hawaii's first four-time Academic All-District student-athlete.