Wie's day has bit of everything at Samsung
By Larry Bohannan
The (Palm Springs, Calif.) Desert Sun
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PALM DESERT, Calif. — Something about Michelle Wie seems to attract rulings.
A year after being disqualified from the Samsung World Championship because of a violation of the Rules of Golf, Wie spent a good part of yesterday's first round of this year's Samsung getting rulings on wayward shots and struggling to a roller-coaster round of 2-over 74.
"I called the referee every single time this time," Wie said, managing a smile after the confusing and strange back nine. "So I don't believe there are going to be any problems."
Dealing with issues as varied as a whiff, a cart path, a hanging branch from a willow tree and desert bushes, Wie took nearly half an hour to play the 14th hole. LPGA rules official Janet Lindsay said it might have been the strangest set of circumstances she has seen in 12 and a half years of officiating.
"We were dealing with quite a few different things," Lindsay said.
After a birdie and eight pars on the front nine, Wie's wild ride began at the par-4 10th. A drive left of the fairway onto a cart path came to rest near a drain. Wie received a free drop from the drain, but her best option on the drop was to stay on the cart path. She hit her second shot onto the green and made her par.
Then came the run of strange holes:
Annika Sorenstam, who shares the first-round lead with Lorena Ochoa after a 67, said she understands how rulings like Wie experienced can be common at the Canyons Course.
"The fairways are generous, but if you miss them, you've got nothing," Sorenstam said.
While Wie wasn't happy with the 74, she was at least pleased she was able to come back with the eagle on the 12th after the double-bogey 6 on the 11th. But she knew she wasn't going to come back from the quadruple-bogey as easily.
"My game is feeling really good. It feels really close right now," Wie said. "I hit a couple of bad drivers, but everything else was good."
