PALM DESERT, Calif. — On a normal weekday, Andre Then sometimes has a little trouble getting his two daughters to wake up at 6:30 a.m. for school.

On a Saturday when they would normally sleep later, Gabriella and Angela Then woke up promptly when the alarm rang just after 5. They were ready to ride two hours from their Rancho Cucamonga home to see Michelle Wie, Annika Sorenstam, and the other LPGA stars at the Samsung World Championship.

Not only that, but they wanted to see Wie hit some balls in practice.

Wie and Grace Park were in the last pairing of a day in which tournament officials said the crowd exceeded 4,4,00, a 70-percent increase over last year.

The galleries were three- and four-deep to watch Wie, including many school children and even toddlers in strollers.

"My kids want to hit balls at the driving range seven days a week," Andre Then said. "You can appreciate Michelle's dedication. She is bringing the game to the next level."

Gabriella, 9, wants to be a professional golfer, and found the perfect role model to follow. "I like Michelle because she just became a pro and she has a really good swing," Garbriella said.

Two busloads of students and their parents from the Tregnan Golf Academy in Los Angeles' Griffth Park also came to watch Wie, but arrived late and didn't see her until the fourth hole.

"She's the next prodigy," said Jonathan Wong, 12, of Walnut, Calif.

"She's the youngest one there," said Tatum Lincoln, 10, of Burbank, Calif.

The group had promotional cushions with written words of support for Wie and was hoping she would notice them in their red shirts. It appeared she did just that after the ninth hole.

But were they responsible for Wie's turnaround? "Maybe we had something to do with it," said Tatum Lincoln's mom, Tonya, with a wink of an eye.