Michelle Wie was hoping to make the cut at a men’s event for the second time in 12 tries.
Instead, she heads into the second round hoping to stay out of the cellar.
Wie shot a 9-over-par 81 on Thursday in the first round of the Casio World Open in Kochi, Japan, a full 15 shots behind the leaders and in 101st place.
That put her two strokes ahead of last-place Tomomichi Oto.
“I don’t think it was pressure,” Wie said. “My first couple of drives went left and it was tough to get my rhythm back after that.”
Wie, who had nine bogeys, is making her second appearance in the Japanese tour event. Last year, she bogeyed the final two holes in the second round to miss the cut by a stroke in her first appearance in Japan.
Japan’s Azuma Yano and compatriot Tetsuya Haraguchi were tied for the lead with India’s Jeev Milkha Singh at 6-under 66.
The 17-year-old star’s troubles started early on the Kuroshio Country Club course.
After teeing off in light rain on No. 10, she bogeyed the par-4 12th hole and had four straight bogeys starting with the par-3 14th.
Despite failing to make a birdie, Wie said she wasn’t too concerned about her game.
“I don’t think I was playing that bad,” she said. “My long game put a lot of pressure on my short game. I have to get my confidence back on my drive and just hit the ball the way I always do, and I’ll be fine.”
Wie has made the cut in one of her 11 starts on men’s tours – in May in the Asian Tour’s SK Telecom Open in South Korea.
In her past three men’s events, she withdrew from the John Deere Classic because of heat exhaustion after playing 27 holes in 8-over and finished last in the European Masters (78-79) and the 84 Lumber Classic (77-81).
She’s winless in 33 LPGA Tour appearances, the past nine as a professional.
Wie still is confident about making the cut.
“I’ve been practicing and working on my game a lot,” she said. “I still have a positive mind-set for tomorrow.”
Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie withdrew from the event, citing personal reasons.
Australasian/European: Amateur Aaron Pike birdied his last four holes to equal the Huntingdale course record of 8-under 64 and take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Australian Masters in Melbourne.
The 21-year-old Pike, who was a promising cricketer before deciding to take up golf seriously when he was 16, opened his round with an eagle and finished one stroke ahead of Nick Dougherty and Peter Wilson, who each had 65s.
Former Kent Denver standout Kevin Stadler fired a 6-over 78.
Pike’s 64 matched the course record set by Nick O’Hern in the opening round of last year’s Masters.
“If you can shoot 64 in the first round, realistically you can do it everyday,” Pike said. “My goal coming into this was that I wanted to shoot double figures under-par … and that’s not going to change.”
Defending champion Robert Allenby was five strokes back after shooting a 69.
Dougherty, 24, was on a hot streak early in the year and looked likely to make his Ryder Cup debut in September.
But a number of personal problems, including the death of his grandfather and his mother being diagnosed with cancer, resulted in a slump and he did not qualify for the European team at The K Club in Ireland.
Dougherty had nine birdies and two bogeys Thursday.
“It’s been a really tough year. … I’ve played poorly now for five months,” Dougherty said. “From being a guy who should be playing in the Ryder Cup team and is finishing in the top 10 every time he teed it up, I couldn’t make a cut. So I’m very relieved to have put a round together that good.
“I had a lot going on off the course with my family … and I had some relationship problems.”
