MICHELE WIE HAS 82 IN FIRST ROUND OF
UNITED STATES WOMEN'S OPEN ... BUT
ONE BETTER THAN KARRIE WEBB!

Michele Wie returned a first-round score of 82 in the first round of the US Women's Open today before play was suspended because of bad weather.
It was the 17-year-old Hawaiian's 21st successive round without breaking par.
Before setting out, Michele said her left wrist, injured a few months ago, "felt better," but she hit only four fairways and four greens in regulation at Pine Needs Lodge.
"It's very frustrating because I know I played better than this," she said. "It's a very fine line between shooting 69 and shooting what I shot today."
Apparently, that fine line is marked by out-of-bounds stakes, beyond which she deposited a ball on the fourth hole. She also whacked two tee shots into the paying customers, sending them scattering for cover, and hit an approach shot that ricochetted off a set of grandstands.
As a result, Michele Wie is all but certain to miss the cut for the first time in her 15 women's majors.
Her dramatic downward spiral means that Michele will almost certainly have to survive two week-long stages of the LPGA Qualifying School in the late autumn to be able to play the circuit next year. She becomes eligible for LPGA membership on October 11, her 18th birthday.
Wie can automatically secure exempt status for 2008 by finishing among the top 90 players on this season's money list. But the way she is playing makes that prospect seem remote. She's made $3,273 in two starts this year.
At Q-School, the usually high-profile Wie would be just another hopeful face in the crowd trying to gain a foothold, never mind her reported $15 million in ANNUAL endorsement revenue from Nike.
+Karrie Webb's 83 - no birdies, only seven pars - was the shock first-round score in the US Women's Open, given that we have come to expect bad scores from Michele Wie in recent months.
"I have no excuses. I'm not that kind of player," Webb said. "Do you think I had any idea I'd shoot 83? It was a terrible round, one of the worst days of my career."
Catriona Matthew had a moderate 75 - seven shots behind the early leader, Angela Park.
+Early scores: 68 (-3) Angela Park. 70 Amy Hung, Jiyai Shin, Joo Mi Kim, Shi Hyun Ann, JUlieta Granada, Charlotte Mayorkas. 71 (level par) Cristie Kerr, Morgan Pressel, Lorena Ochoa, Brittany Lincicome, Jennie Lee (am). Other scores: 75 Catriona Matthew, Becky Morgan. 82 Michele Wie. 83 Karrie Webb.

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