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Teenage golfer Michelle Wie has once again tried and failed to make the cut against the men, coming 101st out of 102 competitors. But since the player in 102nd place was actually an amateur, Wie came last among the pros in the first round of the Casio World Open at the 7,235-yard Kuroshio Country Club (Par 72) in Kochi, Japan on Thursday. After a flurry of rough shots, she found herself with nine bogeys to bring her to a nine-over 81 on the finish. Jeev Milhka Singh of India and Yano Azuma and Haraguchi Tetsuya of Japan were tied for first at six under par at 66, a massive 15-shot lead over Michelle Wie.
Starting the match on the 10th hole, by the 12th hole (par 4) Wie got the ball on the green after four swings, committing her first bogey. Then on the 13th hole (par 4) she pulled out a par save but crumbled with four straight bogeys on the 14th hole (par 3) and holes 15-17 (all par 4). Starting in January with the Sony Open in Hawaii, this was Wie¡¯s sixth attempt at a men¡¯s competition.
At the Sony Open, the 84 Lumber Classic and the Omega European Masters (European PGA) she brought up the rear, and at the John Deere Classic on the U.S. PGA Tour she withdrew after showing signs of heat exhaustion. She did manage to make the cut at the SK Telecom Open in Korea in May, but in the Europe and U.S. PGA Tours, that accomplishment was largely played down. The chance to prove her mettle she had been waiting and preparing for came and went with the Casio Open.
As she only missed the cut by one swing last year at the Casio Open, she came a little early this year to acclimatize herself and walk the course. But the results on the first day were truly pitiful. Korean Australian Lee Won-joon was three-under at ninth place and SK Ho and Jang Ik-jae were tied at 48th, even par. Last year¡¯s second-place finisher Kim Jong-duck was at one-over coming in 71st with 73 swings.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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