Michelle Makes Cut at Men’s SK Open

When a 14-year-old girl first entered a golf tournament for male pros three years ago, it was not news material. After many expected failures, there were voices that told her to wrap up her “meaningless” quest to compete with men. But by going one step closer each time, and eight tournaments later, Michelle Wie has triumphed at last.

At the second round of SK Telecom Open held yesterday at the Incheon Sky72 Golf Club’s Haneul course, (par 72) Michelle Wie tied for 17th place by hitting a three under par, 69 stroke round. Her current tally as of 5:00 p.m. is five under par, 139 strokes. This exceeds the projected cut line (one under par, 143 strokes) by four strokes.

Michelle Wie made the cut in men’s pro event for the first time since she started participating in them at the Canada Pro Golf Tour’s Bay Mills Open in 2003.

Stepping into the green of the last eighteenth hole, Wie smiled at the roaring gallery. “It feels good to make the cut. The reality of it hasn’t hit home yet. My aim now is to make the top 10 or win the tournament,” said Wie.

It is the first time in Asian tour history a female golfer has made the cut. Laura Davis and Miyazato Ai tried and both failed. In Korean pro tournament history, Wie comes after Pak Se-ri who made the cut in the SBS Pro Championship in 2003.

Having saved two strokes in the previous game, Wie played another perfect round by making four birdies and not a single bogey until the 15th hole throughout the windy afternoon. At the 16th hole, (par 3) Wie’s tee shot fell into the bunker. She succeeded in putting the ball one meter away from the pin with her second shot, but missed the par putt.

After getting her first birdie at the second hole, Michelle made a five-meter birdie putt at hole five, (par four), and added two more birdies at the 10th and 15th holes.

Defending champion Choi Kyung-ju (Nike Golf) was pushed down to a 25th place tie after making four birdies, one double bogey, and two bogeys in yesterday’s play. Choi’s midpoint tally is four under par, 140 strokes. Lee Seung-ho and India`s Jeev Milkha Singh are now in the lead at 10 under par, 134 strokes.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com