Wie Just Misses Out in U.S. Open Qualifier

There were no eagles and no aces this time for Michelle Wie. She didn't need them, either. She just needed one less bogey or one more birdie yesterday at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, and she could have qualified for the U.S. Women's Open.

Instead, the 19-year-old Wie bogeyed four straight holes on the back nine of a 36-hole qualifying round and missed by one stroke making a playoff for the final spots in the Open.

Thirty players in all made the cut for the Open field, with Colombia's Carolina Llano and Jimin Kang of South Korea leading the pack of qualifiers after shooting 137.

Wie was coming off the four-day LPGA Championship in Havre de Grace, Md., that ended Sunday in which she finished 23rd, notching two eagles and, on Saturday, a 152-yard ace.

Wie shot a 2-over-par 145 yesterday. She scored a 1-under 71 on the first 18 at Woodmont's North Course, but on the South Course, thought to be the easier of the two, she bogeyed six times on the back nine -- including Nos. 14, 15, 16 and 17 -- to fall out of the running with a 3-over 74.

Wie, from Honolulu, hurried away after learning the results and did not speak to reporters. But Angela Jerman, a veteran who played in Wie's group, said playing for a fifth day in a row surely played a factor in Wie's breakdown.

"She's just played a major championship," Jerman said. "She finished yesterday and immediately had to come out and play 36. That is a grind."

Wie wasn't the only notable pro not to make the cut. Natalie Gulbis shot 146, unable to recover from a first-round 75.

That Wie would earn a spot seemed certain earlier in the day. Her 1 under in the first round was among the best in the field.

In the second round, she didn't miss a green until the 10th hole. That was also where she had her first bogey. Still, she appeared unfazed. On the next hole, she hit her second shot off the pin from 120 yards but then missed the birdie putt, one of many for the day that were makable.

"She said just ran into a wall. She said she just ran out of energy," said Jerman, who talked to Wie when Wie thought the playoff would be among the players with 145, not 144.

The collapse peaked at the 17th hole on a par 3 when Wie missed the green to the rough on the left, then zipped the ball across the putting surface into the right side bunker, forcing her to take a bogey.

Last year, Wie qualified for the Open at Woodmont and nearby Manor, helping quiet some of her critics. Wie first qualified for an LPGA event when she was 12, but in the time since has earned notoriety for receiving corporate exemptions to play in PGA tournaments. This is her first year playing as a pro and, despite her vast experience, she is technically a rookie.

Early struggles plagued Wie in the first round. On the third hole she hooked her drive out of bounds and was forced to take a drop. But she made a 25-foot putt for birdie from just off the green on the par-4 seventh to get back to even.

In past years Wie wouldn't have needed to play to qualify for the Open, as the top 30 on the money list earned exemptions. But a rule change shrank the pool to just the top 10, leaving the LPGA's biggest tournament without one of its marquee players in Wie, who is 16th on the money list.