Home > Wie in shock as European debut ends in disappointment
by Reuters on 09 September 2006
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By Norman Dabell
CRANS-SUR-SIERRE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Michelle Wie's first appearance on the European Tour ended in crushing disappointment on Friday as the Hawaiian teenager crashed out of the European Masters and looked likely to finish in last place.
Wie admitted to being "in shock" as she ran up two double-bogeys and five bogeys in her second round eight-over-par 79 which left her 15 over for the tournament, 22 strokes behind joint clubhouse leaders Marcel Siem of Germany and Britain's Bradley Dredge.
She was 15 strokes worse than the predicted halfway cut and, after finishing her morning round, she was last of the original 156 field. The only player behind her, Swiss Sandro Tan-Piaget, was disqualified for signing for a wrong score.
Wie will try again against the men when she moves on to the Lumber Classic in Pittsburgh on the PGA Tour next week.
The 16-year-old has only made one cut playing with men in 10 attempts, the SK Telecom Open earlier in the year in Korea on the Asian Tour.
"I'm still in shock, I tried my hardest but at times I even wondered what sport am I playing?" Wie told reporters.
"I woke up on the wrong side of the bed again as far as my game went. I guess I had too short a time to get my game ready after going back to school.
"I had difficulty getting my shots into the fairway and I have to work hard for next week. But now I've played this week, I'm really motivated for next week. I feel I could have played a lot better here tomorrow and the next day."
The American has no intention of giving up her quest to win a men's event.
"My aim is to get better on the men's tours and I'll never be able to do that unless I play on men's tours," she said.
Wie added that she hoped the European Tour would give her another chance and the tour's executive director George O'Grady would not rule it out on Friday.
"I'm quite happy with this experiment," O'Grady said of Wie's appearance in Switzerland, the second on the European Tour by a female after Annika Sorenstam's 2004 ANZ Championship start, in which the Swede also missed the cut and finished second-last.
"We will now evaluate it over the next few weeks and make a decision on whether we do it again."
O'Grady insisted Wie's disappointing performance was not an embarrassment to his tour, pointing out how 30 of his players queued up to watch the prodigy tee-off on the first day.
He said he was more embarrassed by players shunning the European Masters to play in this week's Singapore Open.
Two former Crans winners, Ernie Els and Barry Lane, along with Ryder Cup players Paul McGinley and Lee Westwood are among those playing in Singapore.
Both the leaders are looking for their second European Tour titles. Siem won the 2004 Dunhill Championship in South Africa, while Dredge took the 2003 Madeira Island Open.
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