Unlike Michelle Wie's debut in the Sony Open in Hawai'i two years ago, when she made a surprise run at the cut, many expect her to make it to the weekend, probably with a dramatic run tomorrow.

"I think she's all ready for it," said ESPN commentator Ian Baker-Finch. "I think she's probably better prepared than anyone else in the field because this means probably more to her than anybody else.

"She's certainly had a lot more practice rounds here, put in a lot more time and effort into her preparation than the entire field."

The 144-player field that tees off today will be cut to the top 70 — and ties — after 36 holes tomorrow.

No woman has made the cut in a PGA Tour event since Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias at the Tucson Open in 1945. Wie has so far come the closest, missing by one stroke as a 14-year old at the Sony Open in 2004.

"This is the week," said Sean O'Hair, who played a practice round with Wie Tuesday. "I don't want to jinx her, but ... she's hitting well and I think if she keeps her head on her shoulders, which it seems like she is, I think it will be a good week for her."

Mark Rolfing, NBC and The Golf Channel analyst, said: "I think Michelle will make it (the cut) and I think she'll do it dramatically."

The biggest question, many observers say, is her putting. "That's the one thing in her game that she hasn't quite grasped as yet," Baker-Finch said. "But sometimes we have to take a reality check and (remember) she's only 16 and has a lot to learn."

"I think that she is going to make the cut (because) I think she is pretty prepared and I think she understands what is in front of her," said Steve Sands of The Golf Channel. "She's been in this situation before and she seems so (much) more poised than before.

"Whether she makes it or not — and I think she will — it will be dramatic," Sands said.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.