Youngster Wie set to attract attention at ShopRite Classic

Annika Sorenstam won't be the only one drawing a crowd at the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

Die-hard and curiosity seekers alike will also be following 13-year-old Michelle Wie in the 54-hole event, which began yesterday.

Wie a 1-up victory in the US Women's Amateur Public Links last weekend, becoming the youngest player ever to win an adult USGA title. Her power off the tee and heady play have dazzled the golf world.

Not that the defending champion is worried about an eighth-grader beating her.

"I know she will," Sorenstam said on Wednesday. It was hard to tell whether she was joking.

But the 32-year-old Swede, whose popularity has soared since she played against the men in the PGA's Colonial last month, promises to be all business once play begins on the 5,524m par-71 course.

Last year, she improved each day, shooting 68, 67 and 66 for a three-stroke victory over Carin Koch.

Sorenstam, who also won here in 1998, spent last week at home in Orlando, Florida, sunning herself by the pool and catching up on her correspondence.

Drained the point of exhaustion after the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic two weeks ago, Sorenstam says she is now rested and ready.

"Obviously, I like the golf course and I've played well here in the past," she said.

"It's as green as it's ever been. Normally, the greens are very firm and you get a lot of roll on the fairways. But I like it. The wind here plays a big role. It's kind of a target golf course. You've got to hit the shots and you have to know your yardages, because of the bounce, et cetera."

Mercifully, the greenhead flies might be taking the year off. The biting flies, from the saltmarsh that abuts the Seaview Marriott course, often make life miserable for players and spectators alike. This week, they've been conspicuously absent during pro-am play and practice rounds.

This won't be the first time Sorenstam and Wie played a tournament together. Wie, from Honolulu, tied for ninth in the Kraft Nabisco Championship in March as Sorenstam finished second, one stroke behind Patricia Meunier-Lebouc.

Sorenstam she is impressed with the 1.83m Wie's power and poise.

After all, when Sorenstam was 13, she'd been playing golf for only a year.

"I think my handicap was 54," she said.

"If somebody had asked me how old she was, I would have said 18 or 20. She plays like somebody who's played the game for a very long time. Her course management was good and obviously I like her attitude. She's extremely talented."

Julie Inkster, another former champion in this year's ShopRite field, agreed.

"She has a remarkable head on her shoulders," Inkster said. "She really understands the game."