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13 year-old Wie holds her own against men in Boise Open
Boise, Sept 19: Thirteen-year-old Michelle Wie, set the course abuzz after a birdy on the first hole of the men`s Boise Open, but fell back to earth later in her round.
Boise, Sept 19: Thirteen-year-old Michelle Wie, set the course abuzz after a birdy on the first hole of the men's Boise Open, but fell back to earth later in her round.
Michelle Wie struggled to an opening-round 7-over-par 78, despite thrilling the large gallery with a birdie on the first hole. Wie's only birdie came on a putt that rolled downhill 20 feet and dropped in the cup. She followed it with a fist pump and a very visible sigh of relief.''I don't know. I thought I was going to shoot 54 today,'' she said.
The celebration was short-lived. Her second shot from the rough on No. 2 went about 10 yards as she bogeyed three of the next four holes. Only a 20-foot chip she rolled in on the third hole saved her from four straight bogeys.Wie finished with nine pars, eight bogeys and the one birdie.'
She is the latest female to cross over to PGA-sanctioned events. Annika Sorenstam got it started in the Colonial, where she failed to make the cut but gained overwhelming support from the crowds.Suzy Whaley qualified for the Greater Hartford Open, also missing the cut, and LPGA veteran Jan Stephenson has accepted an invitation to play at the Turtle Bay Championship on the Champions Tour in October. ~~
Michelle Wie struggled to an opening-round 7-over-par 78, despite thrilling the large gallery with a birdie on the first hole. Wie's only birdie came on a putt that rolled downhill 20 feet and dropped in the cup. She followed it with a fist pump and a very visible sigh of relief.''I don't know. I thought I was going to shoot 54 today,'' she said.
The celebration was short-lived. Her second shot from the rough on No. 2 went about 10 yards as she bogeyed three of the next four holes. Only a 20-foot chip she rolled in on the third hole saved her from four straight bogeys.Wie finished with nine pars, eight bogeys and the one birdie.'
She is the latest female to cross over to PGA-sanctioned events. Annika Sorenstam got it started in the Colonial, where she failed to make the cut but gained overwhelming support from the crowds.Suzy Whaley qualified for the Greater Hartford Open, also missing the cut, and LPGA veteran Jan Stephenson has accepted an invitation to play at the Turtle Bay Championship on the Champions Tour in October. ~~
Wie, who can drive a golf ball over 300 yards, became the youngest player to win any adult USGA event at the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links. She also played in the final group of the LPGA Tour's Nabisco Championship.
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The Albertsons Boise Open is one of four tournaments on the Nationwide Tour schedule that has been around since the Tour's inaugural season in 1990. This year's tournament features 154 professionals and two amateurs competing for a first-place prize of $108,000.
Bureau Report