Wie vows to bounce back after near miss
The 16-year-old Hawaiian prodigy missed out by just one stroke at the $1.7 million event after bogeying her last two holes in the second round on Friday but a defiant Wie pledged that she would come back stronger next time around.
"I don't know if it proves anything that I almost made the cut," said Wie after a second-round 75 left her at four over par. "But it shows that it is possible. Not making the cut has not in the least part made me not want to play in men's tournaments. It is just going to make me work harder."
Wie was poised to become the first woman in 60 years to make the cut on one of the major men's tours until her game fell apart on the last two holes of the second round. A loose approach shot on the 17th and a sliced drive on the par-five last ultimately cost Wie, who burst into tears after a six-foot par putt on 18 slipped by the hole.
"Those bogeys were pretty stupid," said the Honolulu schoolgirl, who was playing her sixth tournament against the men. "Just one shot after another didn't work out."
It was Wie's first start since her professional debut ended in disqualification at last month's Women's World Championship in Palm Desert, California.
"It's pretty frustrating," said a dejected Wie, who also suffered a late collapse to miss the cut at the men's John Deere Classic in July. "It's the same feeling - frustrated and disappointing. I hope next time it doesn't happen," she added.
The phenomenal Babe Zaharias made the 36-hole cut at the 1945 Los Angeles Open, but no other woman has qualified for the last two rounds on one of the top-level men's tours. World number one Annika Sorenstam missed the cut at the Colonial in 2003 when the Swede became the first since Zaharias to challenge the men on the PGA Tour.
Wie was disqualified on her hugely anticipated professional debut after falling foul of a drop violation during her third round.
She admitted that stage fright played a part in spoiling her second professional start on Friday. "I was thinking about [the cut] a little bit on the last two holes and was a little nervous," Wie acknowledged. "I believed in myself and thought I could do it. It wasn't meant to be."
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