Wie sets sights on completing US Open double
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Wie moved a step closer in her long-shot bid to become the first female player to qualify for the U.S. Open, shooting an even-par 72 on Monday to win a local qualifier.
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NEWPORT, R.I. -- Befitting a persona that has cast long shadows despite a tender age, Michelle Wie yesterday made news in three golf tournaments in three corners of the world.
On a day that began with two free exemptions -- one into the 60th US Women's Open at Newport Country Club (June 29-July 2), the other into her first men's tournament in Europe (the Omega Masters Sept. 7-10) -- Wie showed she can earn her keep on the course, too. The 16-year-old phenom made a brilliant par save at the par-4 17th hole en route to an even-par 72 at Turtle Bay Resort & Golf Club in her native Hawaii to take medalist honors at a US Open local qualifier.
That's the men's US Open.
Thus did Wie become the first woman to make it into a sectional qualifier. She'll play 36 holes June 5 at Canoe Brook CC in Summit, N.J., in a bid to be the first woman to play in a US Open (June 15-18).
Wie's history-making round of golf on the island of Oahu was the latest achievement in a meteoric career that has made her a worldwide attraction. Just two weeks ago, she made the cut for the first time in eight men's tournaments, finishing 35th at the SK Telecom Open in Seoul in front of thousands of Koreans who traced her every step.
''The amount of interest in what she is doing is considerable," said David Fay, executive director of the US Golf Association, who took part in a media day at Newport CC. Fay was adamant that the special exemption was deserved and if there were any critics, they surely had to be silenced when Wie outplayed a field of men (and one other teenage girl) at Turtle Bay. She did so thanks in large part to her heroics at the 17th, which started with an errant drive that forced her to pitch out. From 180 yards, Wie drilled her third shot to 6 feet, then calmly made the putt to save par.
It was a display of talent that has captivated the golf world for nearly five years now. Just two years ago, the USGA was criticized by some for extending a special exemption to Wie into the US Women's Open at The Orchards in South Hadley, Mass., but the 14-year-old finished joint 13th and Fay indicated that everything she has done since then validates this year's decision.
''It wasn't even a tough call," said Fay, who sat in the background but fully supported a decision that was announced by Marcia Luigs, chairman of the USGA Women's Committee. ''To not exempt her, in my view, would be some sort of age discrimination."
Fay was referring to the fact that Wie -- who turned pro in October -- has not yet reached the minimum age of 18 for LPGA Tour membership, so her prize money is not official. To Fay, however, it's impressive -- $181,449 in two tournaments, which would have Wie 16th on the money list. The top 35 as of May 29 are eligible for exemptions and ''that's why it's such an easy decision," Fay said.
As a non-member, Wie can play in only eight LPGA Tour events per season. She was third at the Fields Open in Hawaii in February and tied for third at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in March. She'll next tee it up against LPGA Tour competition June 8-11 at the
When she burst onto the golf scene in 2002 as a 12-year-old, Wie missed the cut in all three LPGA Tour starts, but she has made it into weekend play in 23 of 24 since, including the past 18 in a row. More impressively, in nine starts in the majors, Wie has finished top 10 five times.
''She clearly has enough experience and she has been playing well. I'm OK with it," said Birdie Kim, the defending US Women's Open champion, who attended media day.
Kim, 24, was making her US Women's Open debut last summer when she holed a 35-yard bunker shot at the final hole at Cherry Hills CC outside Denver. ''Birdie's birdie" provided a stunning two-shot win over a pair of amateurs who are now pros, Morgan Pressel and Brittany Lang, and it stands as Kim's only victory in 54 LPGA Tour starts.
Though she concedes the victory ''changed my life," it was Kim's choice to alter her swing in the months following the victory, which perhaps explains why she has missed four cuts in seven starts thus far in 2006.
''I'm struggling, but I'm going to be ready," said Kim, now in her third year on the LPGA Tour.
Clearly, Wie is not struggling, which is why USGA officials awarded her one of two special exemptions. The other went to Kelly Robbins, 36, a 15-year LPGA Tour veteran.
''It's great and exciting news," said Fay, though presumably he was talking about Wie and not the weather, which was yet again wet and dreary.
It was a reaction similar to that of George O'Grady, executive director of the European PGA Tour. In announcing Wie's first exemption into a men's event in Europe, O'Grady said, ''[She] has demonstrated her outstanding skills to a global audience as both an amateur and now as a professional."
Wie has exemptions into two upcoming PGA Tour events -- July 13-16 at the John Deere Classic in Iowa, and Sept. 14-17 at the 84 Lumber Classic outside of Pittsburgh.
But all of that pales in comparison to her next golf appearance -- the date at Canoe Brook against a field that will be top-heavy with PGA Tour members. Not a one of them, however, will be trying to script a story quite like Wie's.
