So close, but not to be for Wie
I had a chance to watch Michelle Wie play her front 9 on TV this afternoon, and what a joy to watch. She made 3 birdies in her first 5 holes, including a Tiger-like chip in from the greenside rough on her third hole. She rolled in a big putt to keep an ugly bogey from doing too much damage on her sixth hole, and followed with a stunning birdie on the closing hole of the 9 to post a three-under 33 for the side. I did not get a chance to see Michelle play her second nine (which was the course’s front 9); after cruising along with five pars, Michelle went double-bogey, bogey on her 15th and 16th holes to drop 2 below the cut line and essentially end her amazing effort to make PGA history. Here is her scorecard.
Michelle’s -1 total, after rounds of 70 and 71, left her tied with major winners Nick Price and Scott Simpson; it also left 48 other players at the John Deere having to contemplate being beaten by a 15-year-old girl. The full leaderboard, which has an interesting collection of names at the top, is here.
Though I think even another near miss is quite an achievement for Michelle — recall that Tiger playing as a 16-year-old amateur in 1992 missed the cut at the LA Open by six shots — I am disappointed that Michelle could not make it to the weekend. I am sure that the executives at ABC, which is broadcasting the John Deere this weekend, are disappointed too.
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