Michelle Wie was neither in awe, nor out of her depth in the opening round of the Sony Open on Thursday.
The 14-year-old golf prodigy looked as though she belonged with the big boys of golf as she totalled three birdies and five bogeys for a two-over-par 72 in perfect conditions at Waialae Country Club.
And though she ended nine strokes behind leader Carlos Franco, her performance provided further evidence that this is a very special athlete who could be destined for greatness in the not so distant future.
Wie seemed genuinely disappointed with her score, if not her game.
”My game felt respectable, but my score felt less respectable,” she said. ”My driver was good, and I think I was putting very well, but the putts just didn’t drop today.
”I think I learned that I can play here, but I have to work harder on my game to be in the winner’s circle. I never felt like I was out of place.”
Well, maybe she did on the first tee, where she admitted to some nerves.
”It was a wonderful feeling, (but) I was a little shaky,” she said. ”After I hit my first shot, the nervousness went away. I feel less nervous the more people there are.”
And there were certainly plenty following Wie, including many of her fellow Korean-Americans. She also received moral support from playing partners Craig Bowden and Kevin Hayashi.
Just as Dean Wilson wore a ”Go Annika” badge at last year’s Colonial in support of playing partner Annika Sorenstam, Hayashi sported a badge that read ”Michelle Noka Oi,” which roughly translates into ”Michelle the best.”
Wie beat Hayashi by three strokes, prompting the Hawaiian club pro to say, ”I’m not the only one she’s going to beat. She’s very good.”
Sorenstam was able to hold her own at The Colonial, but Parnevik said her performance was nothing compared to Wie’s.
”That’s 100 times more impressive than Annika playing Colonial, for her to shoot 72 here,” he said.
Wie, who hit 11 of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens, expressed confidence that she could make the halfway cut. To do so, she almost certainly needs to shoot under par Friday.
”If she would happen to make the cut tomorrow, it’s probably one of the biggest miracles in sports, period,” said Sweden’s Parnevik, who was second after carding a 65.
”If I play like I did today, and a couple of putts fall in, I think I could make the cut, because I think I can shoot under par tomorrow,” Wie said. ”I was playing safe today. To make it to Saturday, I’m going to go at every flag.”
Wie started with two pars before sinking a confidence-boosting birdie putt from 11 feet at the par-4 12th, her third hole, after a nice nine-iron approach. She bogeyed the next two holes, then parred to the turn.
Three-putt bogeys at the first and fifth holes dropped her to three-over, but she made a 20-footer for birdie at the sixth, before dropping another shot at the seventh.
Wie ended on a positive note, sinking a 10-foot birdie at the par-five ninth, where she found a greenside bunker with her second shot.
There was all sorts of speculation before the tournament about how Wie would perform. After a practice round with her Tuesday, Ernie Els was glowing in his praise, but Stuart Appleby said, ”Two scores in the 80s would be good.”
Wie is the third female to play a PGA Tour event in the past year, and probably the youngest of either sex to play on tour, although records are a little sketchy.
Those who expected her to play well pointed to the fact that she can hit it as far as some male pros and to her familiarity with the course, which is in her hometown and which she has played five times each week since November.
Others who were less optimistic pointed out that she played twice against the men last year, finishing last on the secondary Nationwide Tour and close to it on the Canadian Tour.
For one day at least, the young woman who many believe is destined for greatness, showed up. If she can pull off a miracle and make the cut, her legend will only grow.
But as with Sorenstam at the Colonial, it took only one round to vindicate the tournament sponsor’s decision to offer Wie a place in the field.
”I think Michelle is a special person,” said Hawaiian pro David Ishii, speculating she could be the next Tiger Woods. ”For her to play against most of our idols and not be flustered is pretty amazing.
”I hope she continues to improve and maybe she’ll be the first woman to play on the men’s tour.” – Sapa-AFP