Michelle Wie: Time to Go “Under”

Michelle Wie previously recorded her last under-par in the fourth round of LPGA Evian Masters in July 2006. By that time, people still praised Wie as a girl Tiger Woods.

Since then, however, Wie has participated in five men’s and four ladies’ championships, and has never finished a single round under par. The wrist injury added insult to her slump, leading her to voluntary give-ups and failures to pass the cutoff.

Yesterday, Michelle Wie also failed to overcome her spell. She recorded a one-over 73 in the first round of Evian Masters held in France, ranking 37th. People may no longer compare her to Woods. She got off to a good start, but tapered off in the latter half. Wie told the press after the round that she was on recovery, and felt more and more confident.

Out of 90 players, 25 recorded under par. Especially, Eun Hee Ji as invitee participant ranked first, along with Pat Hurst and Brittany Lincicome.

This year only, Ji has won two championships and ranked second in five championships at home. Ji finished the first round with a six-under 66, and said, “Luck was with me all day long. Putting worked out excellently.”

Both Jin Joo Hong and Kyeong Bae recorded 5-under 67 scores and ranked 4th along with Christina Kim. Other Korean players Seon Ju Ahn, Jeong Jang and Mi Hyun Kim tied for 7th.

Defending champion Karrie Webb got off to a relatively good start, too.

kjs0123@donga.com