Super rookie golfer Michelle Wie will have to wait for her first LPGA title a little longer. The 20-year old was unable to hold on to her three-shot lead over Angela Stanford of the United States in the third round of the season-opening SBS Open on the Arnold Palmer Course at Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii on Sunday, finishing second.
Wie started the third round as a co-leader had a good start, leading by three strokes at one stage, but faltered and finished 7-under 209. Stanford rallied, winning the title with 10-under 206.
Twenty-two-year-old Korean Choi Na-yeon birdied three times in a row in the third round and jumped to third place. Although she is in her second year of the LPGA tour, this is virtually her first full-seeded year. Choi played in the LPGA tour on conditional status last year, but earned full-seeded status after finishing second in the Sybase Classic and the Evian Masters. Her long iron shots are regarded as one of the kind in the LPGA tour.
From left, Michelle Wie, Choi Na-yeon, and Shin Ji-yai
The most surprising news of the season opener was Shin Ji-yai missing the cut. Having won three titles in last year's LPGA tour as a non-member, Shin is a strong contender for the Rookie of the Year award and even the Player of the Year award but she finished even in the first round and 9-over 81 in the second, the worst record of her career. It was the first time that Shin missed the cut since her professional debut in 2006.
