Golf

Wie eyes slim shot at historic St. Andrews

By BOB HARIG
Published April 28, 2005

The door cracked open for Michelle Wie to play in this summer's British Open, but don't expect the teenager from Hawaii to be hitting out of the Road Bunker or walking across the Swilcan Bridge at St. Andrews. At least not as a competitor. Not yet, anyway.

The Royal & Ancient's announcement Tuesday that it would likely remove its male-only clause in time for the 2006 Open at Royal Liverpool and would not stand in the way of a female who qualifies this year turned into Wie-mania.

Wie has a sponsor's exemption to play in the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill., July 7-10, the week prior to the British Open and immediately it has been portrayed as her ticket to Scotland. The tournament typically attracts a less-than-stellar field but it does offer the carrot of a British Open spot to the highest finisher in the tournament who is not already exempt for the Open.

So Wie, 15, has her chance, however small it may be.

In two appearances on the PGA Tour, Wie has failed to make the cut at the Sony Open. She has also played in a Nationwide Tour event and Canadian Tour event, missing the cut at both. She would likely have to finish in the top 10 at the John Deere, maybe higher, to get the British Open spot.

But failing that, Wie could in future years try to go through qualifying - as she plans to do for this year's U.S. Open. The Masters, U.S. Open and PGA Championship have no restrictions regarding women - although the criteria to get in are based almost exclusively on men's events.

"The hesitancy is in the detail, not in the principle," said Peter Dawson, chief executive of the R&A, at a news conference previewing this year's Open. "There has been no resistance to the principle of women playing in the Open if they are qualified for it. We are not dragging our feet. It's just that we never had cause to think about it before."

The details concern how to allow qualified women into qualifying events. The British Open has local qualifying tournaments that require a zero handicap index to enter. Dawson pointed out that a scratch female player is not the same as a scratch male player due to playing from different tees.

Wie of course, doesn't need to worry about that. She hits the ball a mile and has been amazing observers for a couple of years. A spot in a men's major beckons, but it will likely be later rather than sooner.

DEFENDING, AGAIN: After defending his title in Houston, Vijay Singh will look to do so again this week in New Orleans. If he wins, Singh would become the first player since Johnny Miller in 1975 to successfully defend PGA Tour titles in consecutive weeks. Miller won at Phoenix and Tuscon in back-to-back weeks in 1974 and 1975.

CLIMBING: With the 26th victory of his career, Singh tied Phil Mickelson and Henry Picard for 20th on the all-time PGA Tour victory list. Singh is second to England's Harry Cooper for victories by international players. Cooper won 31 times.

DRIVE FOR SHOW? The only player among the top 10 in driving distance to have won a tournament this year is Tiger Woods, who is third, averaging 301.1 yards. But five players who rank among the top 10 in greens in regulation have won: Woods, Singh, Kenny Perry, David Toms and Adam Scott.

LOCALLY: The Chrysler Championship, Oct. 27-30 at Innisbrook, is launching its Birdies For Charity program. Last year, local charities sought pledges based on the number of birdies made in the PGA Tour event and raised some $941,000. This year, the program includes a bonus pool of 30 percent for the first $1-million collected, with no minimum pledge requirement. For information, call 727 942-5557. ... The Florida State Golf Association is accepting entries for the 88th Florida State Amateur Championship at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach. The tournament is June 23-26, but entries close May 4. There will be 13 qualifiers for the tournament from June 1-15. For information, visit www.fsga.org ... Bill Buttner, a former PGA Tour player who coaches Eckerd College's men's team, was named Sunshine State Conference coach of the year.

AROUND GOLF: Nick Price has been given a special exemption by the United States Golf Association to play in this year's U.S. Open at Pinehurst. Price, who won three major championships, would have faced sectional qualifying had he not moved into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking after the Memorial. Price is 72nd.... Mickelson is scheduled to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight and on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption on Friday. Mickelson is set to return to the tour at next week's Wachovia Championship. ... Dan Pohl, who lost the 1982 Masters in a playoff to Craig Stadler and won twice on the PGA Tour, makes his Champions Tour debut this week at the FedEx Kinko's Classic in Austin, Texas.... Curtis Strange finished 27th at the Legends of Golf, his best showing in five Champions Tour events.

Information from other news organizations was used in this report.

[Last modified April 28, 2005, 01:19:11]