U.S. Women's Open -- Day Four Wrap Up

I've already said most of what I had to say in the comments to the last wrap up.  I am very happy for Michelle Wie, and I'm so glad that her long struggle has led to such a dramatic victory.  Now let's hope she has the career we all expected 10 years ago.

One final comment about Pinehurst.  It didn't work for the men's tournament, but this week you could see what it's supposed to do -- reward long hitters who are also excellent putters.  Since that's a good short description of the best players in the world, it's not surprising that we had a very strong leaderboard:

1.  M. Wie:  -2 (68+68+72+70=278)

2.  S. Lewis:  Even (67+73+74+66=280)

3.  S. Meadow (NIR):  +1 (71+72+69+69=281)

4.  A. Yang (KOR):  +2 (71+69+68+74=282)

T5.  M. Lee (KOR):  +3 (72+73+70+68=283)
T5.  S.Y. Ryu (KOR):  +3 (69+74+70+70=283)

T7.  L. Thompson:  +4 (71+68+74+71=284)
T7.  S. Yokomine (JPN):  +4 (74+68+71+71=284)
T7.  P. Phatlum (THA):  +4 (71+73+69+71=284)

T10.  C. Matthew (SCO): +5 (75+69+75+66=285)
T10.  J. Shin (KOR):  +5 (74+70+73+68=285)
T10.  Miss B.M. Henderson (am) (CAN):  +5 (71+73+72+69=285)

U.S. Women's Open -- Day Three Wrap Up

When she was only 15 years old, Michelle Wie was tied for the lead going into the last round of the 2005 U.S. Women's Open.  This was back in the days when serious people speculated on the possibility that she might eventually join the men's tour.  She shot an 82 in the last round and finished in a tie for 24th.

The next year, when she was only 16 years old, Michelle Wie was again tied for the lead going into the last round of the 2006 U.S. Women's Open.  This time, she shot a very respectable 73, finishing in a tie for third and missing a playoff by only two shots.

2006 seems like a long time ago, and it was.  It was before smart phones, before almost anyone thought Barack Obama had a chance to be elected president in 2008, before the financial crisis.  John Calipari still had three seasons left at Memphis.  Tiger Woods was still healthy.  Housing markets still appeared to be strong.  It was the last year that Borders made a profit, and five years before the company shut down for good.

After 2006, something happened to Michelle Wie's golf game.  I don't know what it was.  But one day she was famous and about to sweep everything before her, and the next day she had practically disappeared.  Here's what she did at the U.S. Women's Open after 2006:

2007:  Withdrew
2008:  Missed the Cut
2009:  Did Not Play
2010:  Missed the Cut
2011:  Tied for 55th place
2012:  Tied for 35th place
2013:  Withdrew

Now, still only 24 years old, Michelle Wie is having a good year.  She's already won a tournament, and she's tied for the lead in the U.S. Women's Open.  If she can come through and win tomorrow, it will be one of the great comeback stories in sports history.  Even if she doesn't win, I'm excited that she's gotten this far.

In the meantime, I think Pinehurst is playing more as it was intended to play in this week's Open as opposed to the men's Open we saw last week.  Certainly the course has done a good job of separating the wheat from the chaff; there are a lot of big names near the top of the leaderboard:

T1.  A. Yang (KOR):  -2 (71+69+68=208)
T1.  M. Wie:  -2 (68+68+72=208)

T3.  J. Inkster:  +2 (71+75+66=212)
T3.  S. Meadow (NIR):  +2 (71+72+69=212)
T3.  N.Y. Choi (KOR):  +2 (71+70+71=212)
T3.  Miss M. Lee (am) (AUS):  +2 (69+71+72=212)

T7.  P. Phatlum (THA):  +3 (71+73+69=213)
T7.  S.Y. Ryu (KOR):  +3 (69+74+70=213)
T7.  K. Webb (AUS):  +3 (70+73+70=213)
T7.  S. Yokomine (JPN):  +3 (74+68+71=213)
T7.  L. Thompson:  +3 (71+68+74=213)