HERSHEY, Pa. - Michelle Wie shot a 2-under 142 at the U.S. Men's Public Amateur Links qualifying, all but ending her chance to qualify for the 2005 Masters through the Publinx tournaments. The only woman in the field, the 14-year-old Wie finished two strokes behind winners David Bradshaw and Alex Knoll.
Had she been victorious, Wie would have been invited to the Minnesota event in July as one of two southeastern Pennsylvania representatives. The top 64 players from the Publinx will qualify for a match-play tournament and would have to win six matches to make it to the Masters. Wie has said that winning the July match-play tournament would have been her best hope of getting to Augusta.
Wie will be one of four alternates for the July Publinx tournament should Bradshaw or Knoll be unable to participate. The Hawaiian ninth-grader will now shift her focus to the U.S. Women's Open, July 1-4 in Massachusetts.
Wie finished the morning round tied for fourth at 1-under 71 and shot another 71 in the afternoon session to finish tied for third at 142.
In 2003, she became the youngest player to win an adult USGA championship at age 13, winning the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links. She missed the cut by one shot at the PGA Tour's Sony Open in January after a second-round 68. She has finished in the top 20 in three LPGA events this year.
FLORIDA STATE AMATEUR: Jack Lander of Juno Beach shot 67, the tournament low, and leads through two rounds in Naples. Lander posted three birdies on the front nine, at Nos. 2, 5, and 9. He settled for a bogey on No. 11, but recovered with a birdie on No. 12. Joe Lamielle of Sarasota shot 69 and trails Lander by three strokes. Peter Dachisen of Wesley Chapel, who led after the first round, shot 78 and is nine back.
LPGA: Shrugging off wilting heat and pesky insects, Giulia Sergas and Denise Killeen shot 6-under-par 65s to share the first-round lead in the ShopRite LPGA Classic in Galloway Township, N.J. Killeen, 42, of Marietta, Ga., opened with six consecutive pars before posting an eagle-3 on the 481-yard 16th hole and adding four birdies.
"That just kind of jump-started everything," she said. She then used precision iron play to set up short putts for birdies on Nos. 3, 5, 6 and 9, getting a good start on a self-imposed goal of 18 birdies for the tournament.
She did so while fighting humid, 87-degree heat and biting greenhead flies on the Seaview Marriott Resort course, which sits next to a saltmarsh.
"If I could get through 18 holes without getting bitten by those bugs, I'd be happy," Killeen said.
PGA EUROPEAN: Carl Suneson shot a 4-under 67 in windy conditions to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Aa Saint Omer Open in France. Suneson had a 5-under 137 total. Stephen Browne (69), Kyron Sullivan (72) and Murray Urquhart (68) tied for second in the event that includes players from the European Tour's developmental circuit.
