Wie Struggles in 1st Round of Sony Open

Friday, January 12th 2007, 6:11 am

By: News On 6

HONOLULU (AP) _ There were plenty of signs that Michelle Wie was in for a rough day, starting on the first hole. Playing in the Sony Open for the fourth straight year, her seventh start overall on the PGA Tour, the 17-year-old hit a duck-hook and was fortunate her opening tee shot didn't go onto the practice range that lines the left side of the fairway.

Across the fairway about 100 yards away, someone hung a sign in the backyard of a home that spoke to a hot topic.

``Wie??? Why!!!''

The message took on even more prominence Thursday when Wie didn't stand over a birdie putt until the 12th, didn't find a fairway until No. 15 and had to play hard down the stretch _ even par on the back nine _ to shoot a 78.

That left her a mere 15 shots behind Luke Donald, who made nine birdies on his way to a 7-under 63 for a one-shot lead over K.J. Choi.

``Very frustrating,'' Wie said, whose chances of making the cut for the first time on the PGA Tour rank right up there with snow in the forecast in Honolulu.

It was anything but frustrating for Donald, who is No. 10 in the world and looking the part.

Coming off a wind-blown week at Kapalua where he tied for seventh, Donald found the slick, small greens to his liking at Waialae. His swing was as tidy as ever, especially on his final two holes. It set him up for a wedge into 15 feet on No. 8, and a crisp 2-iron to about 25 feet on the par-5 ninth for a two-putt birdie.

``You have to be very specific off the tee, hit good targets, swing aggressively,'' Donald said.

Choi played in the afternoon when the wind was stiffer and shot 30 at the turn before he settled into a series of pars and closed with a birdie at No. 9 for his 64.

Another shot behind was Jim Furyk and Will MacKenzie, and there's always a good story when Willie Mac is involved.

He regaled audiences with his tales of sleeping in the back of his van for five years while living in Montana to enjoy his outdoor adventures, whether that meant climbing mountains or shooting down a raging river in his kayak.

MacKenzie tied for fourth at Kapalua with a toothache on the weekend, and it was bad enough to visit a dentist on Monday in Maui. He feared the worst, thinking he would need a root canal because ``I didn't brush my teeth for about five years and I'm paying for it.''

He was joking, maybe.

The first dentist confirmed his fears and sent him to a specialist. The specialist made his day by telling him that a sinus infection had caused the sore tooth, and all he needed was a decongestant.

``And lo and behold, my tooth feels great right now,'' he said.

He was a little bummed that his 65 wasn't a shot better, especially after hitting 7-iron into the par-5 18th and then taking three putts for a par.

Eight players were at 66, including Chad Campbell, the runner-up a year ago. Defending champion David Toms shot 31 on his opening nine holes before stumbling to a 39 and was at 70. Kapalua winner Vijay Singh birdied the last hole for a 71.

The teenager from Hawaii needs a good round to make the cut _ no, not Wie.

Tadd Fujikawa, who qualified for the U.S. Open last year at Winged Foot, shot a 71 and was one shot outside the cut line. Ty Tryon was the last 16-year-old to make the cut on the PGA Tour, at the Honda Classic in 2001.

The other island teen didn't fare so well, although she kept battling even when all was lost.

Wie hit into the water twice, the bunker twice, hit two palm trees on one hole, and her 43 on the front nine might have been worse if not for holing three putts (two for par, one for bogey) from the 8-foot range.

Playing the back in even par allowed Wie to end a dubious streak of three straight rounds in the 80s competing against the men.

``Even though I was playing bad, I knew I could always come back if I get the ball in the fairway,'' she said. ``If I just get everything right, get the ball in the fairway _ get the ball anywhere in play, actually _ I think I can definitely tear this golf course up.''

She didn't make a birdie until a 6-iron through out of the rough and through a gap in the palm trees to 15 feet on No. 12. Her other birdie came on the par-3 17th, where she hit 5-iron into 18 feet.

Her swing no longer is long and fluid, rather mechanical than when she first played the Sony Open at age 14 and shot 68 in the second round to miss the cut by one shot. Her weakness then was her short game, which is now her strength.

``I'm not going to get it right, perfectly right, at 17,'' she said. ``That would be crazy, actually.''

Q-school grad Stephen Marino (68) and Gavin Coles of Australia (71) both suggested that her right wrist might have been hurting Wie more than she let on. Wie has had it wrapped tightly each day, and said she has been going through acupuncture.

``I don't know that her wrist was doing her any good,'' Coles said. ``I think she's not letting people know that it's hurting. But she's got a nice short game. She managed very, very well. She has a nice head on her shoulders.''

Wie said she hurt the wrist while hitting off a cart path at the Samsung World Championship in October, and it hasn't healed. She does not know if it's tendons or ligaments causing the pain, but she did not dwell on it.

``Every kind of injury hurts a little bit. It's always in the back of your mind,'' Wie said. ``But it is what it is, and I'm not going to make any excuses.''