A 77 in the 84 has Wie looking more and more out of place against men
A 77 in the 84 has Wie looking more and more out of place against men

FARMINGTON, Pa. (AP) -- Michelle Wie seemed to be describing a round that only she saw.

Maybe that begins to explain why the teenager's admirable but still-unsuccessful attempts to become the first woman to make the cut on the PGA Tour in 61 years are increasingly taking on the look of folly, rather than soon-to-happen reality.

A week after finishing last against men in the European Masters, which isn't a tour event, Wie had a 5-over 77 Thursday that bettered only nine others during the opening round of the 84 Lumber Classic. She was in a five-way tie for 125th, with only the top 70 moving on to weekend play following the second round.

Last year's cut was even par, so Wie probably had to shoot a 5-under 67 or better Friday for any chance to make the cut -- something no female golfer has done in a PGA event since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945.

"I'm going to go out with the same mind-set I had today, just try my hardest and keep plugging away," said Wie, a Hawaii high school senior who skipped a week of classes to play in her third PGA tournament this year. "I think I'll be shooting a low score."

She didn't say if she meant low like first-round leader Nicholas Thompson, a 2005 qualifying school graduate who is only 181st on the money list but shot an 8-under 64. It was the lowest round in the 84 Lumber Classic since eventual winner Vijay Singh's first-round 64 in 2004.

Thompson was two shots ahead of six tied at 66 and three up on the six who had 67s. The low scores partly were the result of 1 1/2 inches of overnight rain that saturated the course and made the greens much friendlier.

While the 16-year-old Wie is among the longest hitters among the women, she outdrove only two others with her 259.3 yards average. That left her constantly facing long iron shots on the 7,550-yard Mystic Rock course, the third-longest on the PGA tour.

When she finally reached the greens, her putter let her down as she averaged 2.091 putts -- the ninth-worst average in the field. That's a combination that won't win anywhere, short drives and too many putts.

For a golfer trying to compete against some of the best in the world, it wasn't nearly good enough, even though she said, "I felt I played really good."

No doubt the four others who had 77s didn't feel the same way.

And no wonder some like Chris DiMarco are politely trying to persuade her that she would be better off challenging LPGA golfers whenever she can -- she can't get a full-time LPGA tour card for another one year-plus -- rather than constantly coming up short against the men.

Wie's last six rounds against men, not including an Asian Tour stop this year in which she made the cut against a field of unknowns, include two 79s, a 78 and two 77s. Maybe this is a factor, too -- before beginning her round, she spent time studying for her high school history class.

"Does she deserve to be out here or does somebody who's put in time and effort more deserve that? ... I'd like to see her play more events her age, girls her age, and not only win but whip them by a lot," DiMarco said. "That's what breeds confidence and that's what Tiger (Woods) did and that's why Tiger is so good."

Wie got off to an encouraging start with three consecutive pars after starting at No. 10. Her round began getting away when she missed a short par putt on the par-4 13th, beginning a stretch of three consecutive bogeys.

She never had a chance after that, despite being repeatedly encouraged by a large gallery that chanted her name on No. 17 and appeared to include nearly every spectator on the course. It was her first PGA tour event since she became ill and pulled out of the second round of the John Deere Classic in July.

Her best chance for the birdie she never got was on the par-4 No. 4, but she missed a 6-footer.

"I felt like from tee to green I played very well. My short game and putting let me down a couple of times -- every time," Wie said. "It doesn't feel like I played 5-over because I hit the ball really good."

However, that's good by a 16-year-old's standards and not those of the male pros she is competing against this weekend. Some of the men are unhappy she is taking away a spot that might be used by a golfer trying to keep his tour card for next year.

"I want to make cuts because it's an achievement and a goal of mine. I'm not here to justify anything," said Wie, who is playing with a sponsor's exemption. "I don't really feel any extra pressure just because I'm a girl out here."

17-year-old Michelle Wie, who closed with a 75 for her worst score on the LPGA Tour this year and her eighth consecutive round against women without breaking par.

Wie finished 17th in the 20-player field.

"Obviously, I'm not feeling as wonderful as I did," Wie said. "Like I said before, sometimes we have to take a step back in order to move forward. This is the time of year you don't play that great, your best, and all of a sudden you play good. I feel that's coming in me."

KOCHI, Japan -- Michelle Wie has shrugged off criticism of her forays into men's golf before this week's Casio World Open, saying: "Get used to it."

The Honolulu schoolgirl will be attempting to make the cut for only the second time in 12 professional men's tournaments on her second visit to Kochi, on Japan's Shikoku island.

Wie missed last year's World Open cut by a single stroke after bogeying her last two holes and trudged off the 18th green sobbing as her father B.J. tried to console her.

But despite several men's players suggesting she should become a dominant force in the women's game before teeing up with the men, Wie is not one to shirk a challenge.

"I want to play a lot of men's events next year," the 17-year-old told reporters on Wednesday, the eve of the opening round.

"I feel that as long as I play well it will work out."

Wie became the first woman to make the cut in a major men's tour event in 61 years at the Asian Tour's SK Telecom Open in South Korea in May.

The previous woman to make the final two rounds of a men's tournament had been Babe Zaharias at the 1945 Los Angeles Open.

"I had played in men's events in Hawaii ... but that was my first professional tournament," said Wie, who has yet to win an LPGA tournament. "That definitely gave me confidence."

However, Wie shot her worst score in a men's tournament in September when she followed an opening round 77 with an 81 at the 84 Lumber Classic.

Her meltdown at Mystic Rock followed on the heels of a last-place finish at the European Masters in Switzerland and led to murmerings of discontent from some quarters.

American Ryder Cup player Scott Verplank told Wie to "come back when she's 20 or 21 and grown up" after her failure at the Lumber Classic.

Wie, who made an impression with the locals this week by donating $85,000 to 10 child-care facilities throughout Kochi, disagrees.

"I worked my butt off so I hope to do well this year," Wie said on her arrival in Japan last week. "I'm pretty confident. I just want to go under par. If that makes the cut -- awesome."

KOCHI, Japan (AP) - Michelle Wie had another terrible round in a men's event, shooting a 9-over 81 on Thursday in the first round of the Casio World Open.

The 17-year-old's troubles started early on the Kuroshio Country Club course. After teeing off in light rain on No. 10, she bogeyed the par-4 12th hole and had four straight bogeys starting with the par-3 14th.
"I don't think it was pressure," Wie said. "My first couple of drives went left and it was tough to get my rhythm back after that."

Wie, who had nine bogeys, is making her second appearance in the Japanese tour event. Last year, she bogeyed the final two holes in the second round to miss the cut by a stroke in her first appearance in Japan.

Japan's Azuma Yano and compatriot Tetsuhara Haraguchi were tied for the lead with India's Jeev Milkha Singh after all three shot 6-under 66. Wie was 101st, two strokes ahead of last-place Tomomichi Oto.

Despite failing to make a single birdie, Wie said she wasn't too concerned about her game.

"I don't think I was playing that bad," she said. "My long game put a lot pressure on my short game. I have to get my confidence back on my drive and just hit the ball the way I always do and I'll be fine."

Wie has made the cut in one of her 11 starts on men's tours, in May in the Asian Tour's SK Telecom Open in South Korea.

In her last three men's events, she withdrew from the John Deere Classic because of heat exhaustion after playing 27 holes in 8 over and finished last in the European Masters (78-79) and 84 Lumber Classic (77-81). She's winless in 33 LPGA Tour appearances, the last nine as a professional.

Wie said she was still confident about making the cut.

"I've been practicing and working on my game a lot," she said. "I still have a positive mind-set for tomorrow."

Scotland's Colin Montgomerie withdrew from the event, citing personal reasons.

KOCHI, Japan -- Michelle Wie was hoping to make the cut but ended up just trying not to finish last.

Wie beat only one player in yet another embarrassing performance in a men's event, shooting an 8-over 80 on Friday in the second round of the Japanese tour's Casio World Open.

The 17-year-old Wie finished at 17-over 161 on the Kuroshio Country Club course, leaving her 27 strokes behind leader Tetsuya Haraguchi and a shot ahead of amateur Tomomichi Oto. She didn't birdie a single hole in the tournament, finishing with six bogeys and a double bogey Friday after bogeying nine holes Thursday in an 81.

"It was pretty tragic, that's how I'd describe it," Wie said. "My driver wasn't working at all and that put a lot of pressure on my short game."

Wie's troubles started on the par-3 second hole when her par putt lipped out to send her to 10 over.

On the par-3 11th, Wie's tee shot landed in the rough on the right side of the fairway. Her second shot found a greenside bunker and she one-putted after blasting out to the edge of the green.

In her previous two men's events, she finished last in the European Masters (78-79) and 84 Lumber Classic (77-81). In the event before that, she withdrew from the John Deere Classic because of heat exhaustion after playing 27 holes in 8 over.

"Golf goes in waves," said Wie. "I've played some pretty bad rounds lately and hopefully it's time for some good rounds."

She said the poor performances wouldn't deter her from playing in men's events.

"Not at all," said Wie, winless in 33 career LPGA Tour appearances. "I didn't play like myself today and it doesn't bother me because I know I can play much better than this. I learn a lot from playing with the men."

She has made the cut in only one of her 12 starts on men's tours, in May in an Asian Tour event in South Korea. Last year at Kuroshio in her first appearance in Japan, she bogeyed the final two holes in the second round to miss the cut by a stroke.

The high school senior from Honolulu will make her next start against the men in January in the PGA Tour's Sony Open in Hawaii.

"I know what I have to work on," Wie said. "I'm looking forward to going home and working on my swing with David Leadbetter."

Haraguchi shot a 68 to top the leaderboard at 10 under. India's Jeev Milka Singh, the winner of the European tour's season-ending Volvo Masters, was a stroke back after a 69, and Hideki Kase (69) was third at 8 under.

Oto had rounds of 83 and 79 to finish last among the 101 second-round finishers at 18 over.