Golf Phenom Michelle Wie Stuns Britain With Her Range

Around 8,000 British fans had eyes only for Michelle Wie (15 years old, Wie Seong-mi) on June 13.

One of golf’s newsmakers together with Tiger Woods (U.S.), Wie displayed her magnificent long-range shots on an international stage.

It was the first day of the Curtis Cup (the amateur national competition between the U.S. and U.K held every two years) held at the Formby CC in Formby, U.K. on June 13. The youngest player ever representing the U.S, Wie lost her foursome match (where two players alternate hitting the ball) by one hole, but won a victory in single match play to lead the U.S team by a score of 5-4.

Joining a foursome match pairing with Brittany Lang, Wie disappointed fans by being defeated by Anne Laing and Claire Coughlan, and she seemed uneasy with a foursome match. But she topped her opponent, Anna Highgate, by five shots in the remaining four holes of single match play to recover her pride.

She got her winning momentum by winning three holes consecutively from the seventh hole on, and won the 11th and 13th holes. In particular, she hit an excellent drive shot and earned a chance for a 1.2m birdie putt on the 13th to make her opponent concede.

"It was hard for me to find my rhythm in the foursome match,” said Wie after the first day of play. “But I played confidently in single match play."

Korean golfer in the U.S, 18-year-old Jane Park, lost in her foursome game, but earned a win by making up three strokes in the remaining two holes in single match play.

The defending champion U.S team lost three of its foursome games and the first game of single match play, but swept the rest to put its record at five wins and four losses.

Three more foursome games and six more single match games will be played on the final day of the Curtis Cup on June 14.

Sang-Soo Kim ssoo@donga.com