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9:56 a.m.: There’s not a cloud in the sky or a breath of air as I walk to the practice area at LPGA International for Day 3 of LPGA Q-School. I don’t think the players could have asked for a better day to score. As I near the putting green, Stacy Lewis, who shot 66 Thursday and is a shot off the lead, is stroking putts by herself. The entire practice green is hers, and no one is watching.
About 100 yards away, a group of 40 people are clustered on the driving range watching Michelle Wie finish her warm-up routine. Wie, who is tied for the lead after carding a bogey-free 65 in the second round, is putting on a clinic with her 3-wood.
9:58 a.m.: A man in his 20s approaches me. “Do you know where the Wie girl is teeing off?” He’s not kidding.
10:07 a.m.: I arrive at the first tee box where Mollie Fankhauser, Amy Yang and Lisa Strom have just teed off in the second-to-last group of the day. Of the 100 or so fans gathered, exactly four leave the tee box to follow this group down the first fairway.
10:13 a.m.: Wie arrives last to the tee box, followed by about 25 people, including her caddie. Her game face is on. Lewis and Shiho Oyama, who is tied for the lead with Wie, have been waiting on the tee box for a few minutes. They give Wie passing grins when she arrives. No one initiates a hand shake until Lewis’ caddie breaks the tension and reaches her hand towards Wie. They shake hands. They are the only ones.
10:17 a.m.: Wie is the first to tee off. She rips a 3-wood down the fairway with a low draw. Then, over the smattering of applause, a loud voice standing near me shouts, “Good job, Michelle!” As I turn towards the voice, the woman who shouted unleashes a fist pump. On the first tee. For a 3-wood shot. It’s Bo, Wie’s mother. She takes off down the cart path at a brisk pace. First tee? Fist pump? That’s a first.
10:26 a.m.: Wie leaves her approach to the first hole 25 feet away and two-putts for par. Lewis putts next from 20 feet, and on its final revolution, the ball falls into the cup. Birdie. Game on.
10:30 a.m.: Off the second tee box, Wie yanks her 3-wood shot left. The ball bounces off a cart path and bounds into a hazard. She takes a drop and punches out to the fairway.
10:52 a.m.: Wie is looking at a 30-footer for par, but runs her attempt 5 feet past the hole. She misses the comebacker, slaps herself on the leg, and taps in for double bogey. Ouch. It's her first double bogey in 38 holes.
11:03 a.m.: The first cloud graces the clear, blue sky.
11:17 a.m.: Just to remind everyone that she’s playing too, Oyama drains a 25-footer for birdie on the fourth green and flashes a huge smile. Not to be outdone, Wie rolls in her 8-foot birdie putt a minute later. The crowd cheers louder when this one drops.
11:26 a.m.: After finding the left rough off the tee at No. 5, Wie slams a wedge shot to a foot. Two men in their 60s standing next to me shake their heads and laugh. Wie taps in for birdie.
11:46 a.m.: Wie makes her third birdie in a row on No. 6. When her downhill, 18-footer spills into the hole, Wie cracks her first smile of the day and waves to the crowd. The game face quickly returns.
11:53 a.m.: The crowd has grown to about 300 people by the time we reach the par-3 seventh.
12:01 p.m.: Wie blasts out of a greenside bunker to 5 feet and makes the par putt to stay at 1 under for the round.
12:05 p.m.: The running conversation between Wie and her caddie, Tim Vickers, continues down the eighth fairway. I can’t quite make out what they’re talking about, but I’m sure it’s not about golf. There are too many “likes” and “oh my Gods” and “totallys.” Wie has yet to say a word to Lewis or Oyama, who are walking side-by-side with their caddies about 15 paces behind Wie.
12:18 p.m.: Oyama rolls in her third birdie of the front nine on No. 8. For my money, I think being paired with Oyama would be fantastic. She plays very quickly, is always smiling and seems to be completely relaxed and under control. Had it not been for a double bogey at No. 6, she’d be on top of the leaderboard.
12:46 p.m.: Wie leaves a 10-footer for birdie on the edge of the cup at the 10th hole. Instead of getting upset, she laughs it off. She knew she hit a good putt. After making double bogey at No. 2, Wie carded five consecutive 3s and is 1 under after 10 holes and 11 under for the tournament.
1:02 p.m.: As the threesome approaches the par-3 12th green, the group of Anna Rawson, Ashleigh Simon and Brandi Jackson plays into the nearby 17th green. Just a small pack following Wie’s group break away to see the action on No. 17. No one stays longer than a minute or two.
1:13 p.m.: As Wie and her group exit the 12th green, no one leaves to join the nine fans following Rawson’s group. It seems being a model from Australia isn’t enough for the Daytona Beach crowd.
1:17 p.m.: The wind has picked up and clouds have rolled in. Wie hits driver for just the second time today, and pulls it left into a hazard on No. 13.
1:25 p.m.: After punching out of the hazard, Wie has 170 yards into the green. She hits a dart to 20 feet, but misses the par-saving putt. Bogey. Back to even par for the day.
1:45 p.m.: Wie misses another birdie putt from less than 15 feet on No. 14. The putt is one of several from this length today that has slid past the hole. Her shoulders slump and her face tightens. The conversation with Vickers while walking to the next tee has changed from carefree to stern, short and serious.
2:16 p.m.: Oyama babies a 25-foot putt down a ridge and the ball trickles into the cup for a birdie on the par-5 16th. She turns to the sizable gallery behind her and flashes another mega-watt smile. “I like this girl,” says a woman standing next to me.
2:18 p.m.: Never to be outdone, Wie follows with an 8-footer for birdie. But her celebration is understated and determined. She doesn’t smile when giving her caddie a fist pound. She’s back to even par for the day.
2:22 p.m.: A cell phone goes off while the players wait on the 17th tee.
2:24 p.m.: The same cell phone goes off again. “Put it on silent,” Lewis blurts out. The man with the phone scurries into the woods.
2:37 p.m.: From the fairway, Wie misses the 17th green 20 yards right with her approach. It’s her worst swing of the day and appeared to be a shank. Wie is left with a delicate chip, which she runs 20 feet past the hole.
2:41 p.m.: Wie makes her third bogey of the day.
2:56 p.m.: The final threesome arrives at the 18th green to a crowd pushing 350 people. Not a bad showing for the third round of LPGA Q-School. As the women line up their putts, four extremely loud jets that look like F-16s fly overhead.
2:58 p.m.: Lewis, who hasn’t made a birdie since the first hole, rolls in a 15-footer for birdie. She throws her hands up in the air and shakes her head. After a bogey at No. 4, Lewis had made 13 consecutive pars. She was due. Lewis finishes with a 1-under 71. Oyama also taps in for par and 72.
2:59 p.m.: Wie two-putts for par and a 72.
3:03 p.m.: After signing her card and stopping to sign three autographs, Wie walks past a group of 10 reporters and two video cameras. She joins her parents, and they walk away from the 18th green. Just the three of them.
3:06 p.m.: Lewis stays to chat with the group of reporters and unloads these thoughts when asked about her day with Wie:
• “It was a little crazy. It’s hard to get used to. After your tee shot, you have to run to get ahead of the crowd.”
• “She’s a good player, but not that much better than everyone else.”
• “I mean, we’re at qualifying school and you’ve got all these people out here. It’s pretty cool.”
Just wait until Sunday.
Posted: 12/5/2008
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