EDINA, Minn. — The last time most folks remember seeing Michelle Wie, she was tearfully holding her wrist while taking an early exit from the U.S. Women's Open.

It was the low point of a star-crossed 2007. And, looking back, it was not very smart to be at Pine Needles in the first place.

"I don't know what I was thinking," Wie said today, opening up about a topic that put her on the defensive all last year. "I wasn't in any condition to play."

The Punahou alum, who is 18, looms as a potential wild card when the 63rd Women's Open tees off Thursday.

To be sure, Wie hasn't contended in an LPGA event in nearly two years, since finishing second at the 2006 Evian Ladies Masters. But her embarrassing string of near-bottom finishes appears behind her.

A sixth-place finish in Europe appeared to turn the ship, and she followed by tying for 24th at last week's Wegman's LPGA. Listen to some of the caddies, and Wie's game isn't all that far from the level that once made her a can't-miss draw.

"I know I'm not fully recovered," Wie said, "but I feel like I'm getting there."

She may also have learned something about stubbornness along the way. She places the blame squarely on herself for last year's woes, thinking her wrist would heal up "at any moment."

"Looking back on it, I think it just prolonged my injury," she said. "If I had taken good time off, it would have healed a lot faster."