Wie’s Silent Play Is Irritant to Some

Alongside acquiring a new nickname, “silent partner,” Michelle Wie (17) has failed to proceed to the semifinals.

Yesterday, the quarterfinal of the HSBC Women’s World Match Championship was held at Gladstone Golf Club (par: 72) in New Jersey. Seeded second, Michelle Wie was unexpectedly defeated by Brittany Lincicome, who was seeded 39nd at the 15th hole where she fell four holes behind.

Although, she beat Pak Se-ri with a two-hole gap in the previous match in the round of 16, exercising her long hits that are her most outstanding strength, this time, her weaknesses in putting were more predominant and she lost another chance to win the first tournament in her professional career.

Wie has drawn interest since both of her round partners Pak and Lincicome have defined her as a “silent partner.” Pak said, “We were not having any conversation at all, but this is a match game. It was a little weird, but that`s fine. She wanted to win.” Similarly, Lincicome said, "I would tell her, “Good shot” and she would say nothing in return. Maybe she was just focused. Maybe I was messing her up by trying to talk to her."

Wie will take part in the PGA Tour John Deere Classic, which opens on July 13.

Annika Sorenstam (Sweden), the top-ranked female golfer, has also packed her luggage as she lost to Juli Inkster (46, USA), a veteran housewife golfer who got the seed No.8, with a single hole behind.

While the first and second-seeded players were disqualified, Lorena Ochoa (Mexico), seeded third, proceeded to the semifinals after she had beaten Kim Mi-Hyun (KTF) and Sophie Gustafson (Sweden), and will meet Lincicome at the semifinals to compete for a ticket to the final match.

Probably due to the lack of experiences in match plays, none of the Korean players made it to the quarterfinals, exposing their weaknesses.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com