Wie Fades Late in U.S. Open Bid

By Thomas Bonk

June 6, 2006 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

SUMMIT, N.J. —

Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., the site of next week’s U.S. Open, is about an hour from Canoe Brook Country Club here, but it was just a little too far Monday for Michelle Wie.

In the midst of stately maple trees and towering cypress, before an enthusiastic crowd following her every move and an armada of media, the 16-year-old from Hawaii took on the burden of history in her attempt to become the first female to qualify for the men’s U.S. Open.

But it wasn’t the weight that made her stagger, it was the bogeys.

“You know, I’m disappointed I didn’t make it, but I’m satisfied with the way I tried,” she said. “I just played my hardest out there.

“It just didn’t work out.... What can you do about that? It just wasn’t meant to be.”

Wie was only one shot out of a possible playoff for one of the last 18 spots available after 30 holes -- she’d played 18 in the morning and was on her second 18 in the afternoon -- but slipped up with three consecutive bogeys.

Admission was free Monday and the gates to Canoe Brook were closed at 11 a.m. because officials said they had reached the limit of their ability to control the crowd. And, as usual with Wie, her appearance was not simply a popular event but blurred the boundary between sports and social phenomenon.

Her gallery was judged to be close to 3,000 for her afternoon round, witnessed by about 290 credentialed media representatives. By comparison, the PGA Tour’s Booz Allen Classic, which will be played the week after the U.S. Open, has issued fewer than 60 media credentials.

Wie attracted a number of young girls for her round, including Kelsey Lecker, 10, the daughter of Canoe Brook head pro Greg Lecker. Kelsey and her 10-year-old friend, Carolyn Cranley, wore homemade, round paper badges, each decorated with a crayon drawing of a red heart between the words “We” and “Wie.”

“She’s an awesome role model,” Carolyn said.

Wie noticed the girls and their badges and smiled at them as she crossed from the 12th green to the 13th tee.

“They were very cute,” Wie said. “I can’t believe they actually know who I am at that age.”

Sarah Ethridge of Chatham, N.J., had a good view of Wie, perched on the shoulders of her father, David. Sarah wanted to see Wie, and besides, it was her 9th birthday.

“That’s why I got to come,” she said. “I think she’s really tall and pretty and she’s really good and she’s the only one competing against all the men and that’s very cool.”

Wie wouldn’t have been the youngest to qualify for the U.S. Open -- Tyrell Garth was 14 in 1941 -- but her impact was unmistakable.

Greg Kraft, who played in the group in front of Wie, said the commotion was a problem because of crowd control.

“It was awful,” he said. “We must have backed off shots 50 times. There was nobody out there except in her group.

“I’ve played with Tiger, [John] Daly, nothing’s been this bad.... If they’re going to do something like this, and I have no problem with her playing, then they’ve got to be prepared.”

There were no gallery ropes to control the crowd as there are at PGA Tour events.

Wie said she knew when she showed up that this was no normal day at the golf course.

“Laughing my way into the parking lot, I couldn’t believe that so many people would come to a qualifying round,” she said.

B.J. Wie said his daughter proved that a woman can qualify for the Open and both players in her group said she showed that she can compete.

“I respect her for what she’s trying to do,” said David Gossett. “She had a legitimate shot today, that’s fantastic.”

Rick Hartmann, the other player in Wie’s group, said he was rooting for her to make it.

“How great would that have been for golf?” he asked.

Wie got the first two of her three straight bogeys by three-putting, her second putts no more than two feet long. The third resulted from her yanking her drive left under trees. Going from two under par to one over, Wie quickly fell out of contention.

Her rounds of 68-75 and one-over total of 143 left her five shots out of a playoff and in a tie for 59th, but Wie said she wasn’t discouraged, that she planned to try again next year.

“I’m not going to quit after this year,” she said. “I don’t see the point in doing that. Hopefully, next year will be the year.”

She missed six putts of 12 feet or less in her first 13 holes.

“I guess the ball was afraid of heights or something because it didn’t want to fall in the hole,” she said.

The math problem was tough ... 18 places in the U.S. Open divided by 153 players, spread over 36 holes. But Wie seemed ready to solve it after a spectacular chip shot from the front fringe of the green at the 18th to close out her morning round with a rousing birdie and a 68.

Brett Quigley’s 68-63 and 11-under 131 was the day’s best score, three shots better than 134s shot by Michael Harris, Kent Jones, Kevin Stadler and Kraft.

Wie made the cut at a men’s Asian Tour event last month and narrowly missed the cut at the PGA Tour’s Sony Open in 2004 and the 2005 John Deere Classic. She said she felt no pressure Monday.

But Wie did take pride in what she managed here because it might inspire others to take a chance.

“I’m not really here to prove something, that women can actually play, but hopefully this just shows or motivates people to do what they want to do and not really be bended or just do what other people do, what the normal thing to do is,” she said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Wie’s scorecard

Michelle Wie, who started the second round on the 10th hole, finished with a 143:

First Round

1 -- 470, Par 4...4

2 -- 394, Par 4...4

3 -- 363, Par 4...4

4 -- 156, Par 3...3

5 -- 411, Par 4...4

6 -- 485, Par 5...4

7 -- 185, Par 3...3

8 -- 573, Par 5...5