Michelle Wie wants to do more than make history.
The 15-year-old Hawaiian shot a 1-under-par 70 at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill., on Thursday, keeping her hopes alive of being the first woman in 60 years to make a cut on the PGA Tour. She was on the right side of the line when she finished, but the cut had moved to 2-under at the end of the day.
“I’m not really thinking about the cut,” said Wie, who is tied for 73rd. “I’m only five shots behind (the early leaders), and if I put up three crazy rounds, who knows?”
Babe Didrikson Zaharias was the last woman to make a cut on the PGA Tour, at the 1945 Tucson Open, and it would be another 58 years before Annika Sorenstam teed it up at the 2003 Colonial. Suzy Whaley played at the Greater Hartford Open later that year; neither woman made the cut.
Wie played the Sony Open the past two years, missing the cut by a stroke in 2004. She missed it by seven strokes this year.
“It’s impressive at 15, that’s for sure,” said Scott Gutschewski, one of Wie’s playing partners Thursday. “I don’t know how many 15-year-olds could come out here and do that, let alone a 15-year-old girl.”
This was Wie’s second-lowest round in a PGA Tour event, and she beat both her playing partners. She played her last 10 holes at 3-under, had five drives over 290 yards and missed only one putt from inside 10 feet.
She also had one of the most impressive shots of the day, getting within 10 feet of the pin from about 260 yards out on the par-5 17th. She missed her eagle putt, but made a 3-footer for birdie to get to 1-under.
Hunter Mahan shot an 8-under 63 to take the lead, and J.L. Lewis is one stroke behind.
“She’s going to beat a lot of guys today. She’ll probably beat a lot of guys tomorrow,” said Gutschewski, who finished at even par. “She’s going to beat a lot of guys for the rest of her life, I’m sure.”
A couple hundred people were waiting for Wie at the first hole, and that number grew to 2,000 by the time she made the turn. By the end of the round, there were 5,000 people on 18.
And, no offense to Gutschew- ski and Nick Watney, but the crowd wasn’t there to see them.
“On the surface, it was a very well-played round. Then you realize she’s a 15-year-old girl, and it’s mind-boggling,” said Watney, who shot 4-over 75. “She’s a phenom. When I was 15, I sure didn’t look like that.”
Champions Tour: Tom Watson shot a 66 in the first round of the Senior Players Championship in Dearborn, Mich., then said he wouldn’t be surprised if he lost his lead.
About an hour later, he did.
Graham Marsh took the lead with an 8-under 64 – bogeying 18 to miss tying the course record – at the tour’s second major. Isao Aoki and Ron Streck also were two shots off the lead in a field of 78 that averaged 70.96, a first-round record at The TPC of Michigan.
European Tour: Phil Mickelson shot a 4-under 67 in the Scottish Open in Luss, leaving him three strokes behind first-round leaders Angel Cabrera and Stuart Little.
Lee Westwood was in a group at 65, and U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman was another stroke back at 66. Ernie Els, who committed to play his 15th consecutive International from Aug. 4-7 at Castle Pines Golf Club, opened with a 70.
LPGA: Birdie Kim took a solid first step toward proving her stunning U.S. Women’s Open victory two weeks ago wasn’t a fluke, shooting a 6-under 65 – her LPGA career low – to share the lead with Becky Morgan after the opening round of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.
“That gave me a lot of confidence,” Kim said of her Women’s Open victory at Cherry Hills Country Club. “I feel free. I don’t have to worry about going back to Q school.”
