Wie haunted by her past

It was easy to identify the root of Michelle Wie's failed bid to win in her debut as a member of the LPGA on Saturday. It traces to her rush to play with the big kids (men and women), while largely abandoning junior golf in her teen years and in the process forfeiting the opportunity of learning how to win.

Wie's inability to close was frighteningly apparent in the final eight holes of the SBS Classic at Turtle Bay. She led by three with eight to play. She then double-bogeyed the 11th, missed a short birdie putt at 16, and bogeyed the 17th, while Angela Stanford birdied 13, 14 and 15. It was a six-stroke swing in an eight-hole stretch that emphatically reiterated Wie's youthful indiscretion.

-- John Strege