KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) — Michelle Wie got off to a promising start in her first tournament round of the year, shooting a 3-under 69 in the Fields Open on Thursday to finish three strokes behind early leader Paula Creamer.
Showing no signs of the wrist injuries that plagued her last year, Wie broke 70 for the first time since the Evian Ladies Masters in July 2006, a tournament where she tied for second and earned her largest LPGA Tour check.
Creamer shot a 6-under 66, birdieing the last three holes for a 5-under 31 on the back nine. Annika Sorenstam, trying to complete a Hawaiian sweep after winning at Turtle Bay for her 70th LPGA Tour title, opened with a 70.
The 18-year-old Wie looked relaxed and confident playing on her home island of Oahu in front of a familiar gallery that ballooned as she moved up the leaderboard. She demonstrated a solid short game and was still a little shaky off the tees.
The Stanford freshman was in the first group off the 10th tee and made her move after the turn. She birdied four of five holes to take the lead at 4 under.
Wie split the fairway with a booming drive on par-5 first, just one of six fairways she hit all day. She then hit a wedge to 2 feet to set up a birdie.
She enthusiastically shook her first after dropping a 4-footer for another birdie on the next hole. Wie made a difficult downhill putt from 15 feet for birdie on her 13th hole and missed an eagle try from 25 feet on the following hole.
Wie got into a little trouble in the sand late, finishing bogey-par-birdie-bogey.
On Tuesday, Wie said she has accepted that her injured wrists will never be 100 percent again but are as good as they can be. Both wrists were injured last year but Wie kept playing, and struggling. She made only three cuts. In nine starts, she withdrew twice and only broke par twice in 19 rounds against women.
Wie has played well at Ko Olina, missing a playoff by a shot in the inaugural event in 2006.
She is starting the season against the women for the first time in five years. She previously opened at the PGA Tour’s Sony Open where she nearly made the cut as a 14-year-old when she shot a 68. But she wasn’t invited to play Waialae this year.
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