The Loop
Michelle Wie's disastrous season continues at the U.S. Women's Open
By Alex Myers
Michelle Wie is still looking for her first LPGA major title. By the looks of her first hole at the U.S. Women's Open, it's not going to come this week.
Teeing off the par-4 10th hole at Sebonack Golf Club, Wie opened with a quadruple-bogey eight. A bogey on No. 14 and a double bogey on No. 15 has the former teen phenom just about at the bottom of the early leader board.
Wie appeared to be headed in the right direction earlier this month with back-to-back T-9s -- her first top-10 finishes of 2013 -- but arrived in Long Island after missing the cut in Arkansas last week. Overall, her season has been a disaster with six missed cuts and only one finish, a T-28 at the LPGA Lotte Championship, inside the top 40 other than her recent stint of good play.
The 23-year-old has fallen to No. 82 in the Rolex World Rankings, a list she debuted at No. 3 on in 2006 when she was 16.
On the other hand, a 24-year-old has passed Wie and everyone else in women's golf. Inbee Park arrived at Sebonack in search of a historic third consecutive major win and her start was slightly better on the 10th hole. Park knocked her opening approach shot to about a foot for a tap-in birdie.
UPDATE: Wie's first round didn't get much better. She made the turn in 45 and was 11 over through 13 holes. Even with three birdies over her final four holes, she shot 80. Park grabbed the early lead with a 67.