Michelle Wie's pro debut made her look like an amateur when she was disqualified on Sunday for taking a bad drop from the bushes in the third round of the Samsung World Championship.
First, Annika Sorenstam blew away the field to win by eight shots, even with a double bogey on the last hole.
Then, the 16-year-old Wie no sooner had signed for a 74 to finish fourth -- worth US$53,126 -- that US LPGA Tour officials took her out to the seventh hole to discuss a drop she took the day before.
Nearly two hours later, she was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. Because Wie dropped the ball closer to the hole -- by 3 inches according to her, by about a foot according to the rules officials -- she should have added two strokes to her third-round 71.
"I learned a great lesson," Wie said, her voice choking with emotion. "From now on, I'll call a rules official no matter where it is, whether its 3 inches or 100 yards. I respect that."
Wie hit a 5-wood into a Gold Lantana bush on Saturday and was barely able to find it. She told her playing partner, Grace Park, she was taking an unplayable lie, dropped away from the bush, then chipped to 15 feet and made the par. It was a critical par save, and Wie steadied herself to get within five shots of the lead.
Michael Bamberger, a reporter for Sports Illustrated, told tour officials on Sunday afternoon that he was concerned about the drop. Rules officials Jim Haley and Robert O. Smith reviewed television tape before taking Wie and caddie Greg Johnston to the seventh green after the tournament ended.
"If I had to make the ruling based on the videotape, to me it was inconclusive," Smith said.
He had Johnston and Wie show him where the ball was in the bushes, then where they dropped. They paced it off, then used string to measure the distance and determined it to be slightly closer.
"The Rules of Golf are based on facts," Smith said. "They had to tell us where it was. The fact was, the ball was closer to the hole by 12 to 15 inches."
Wie took three unplayable lies during the tournament, all without the help of rules officials.
"I don't feel like I cheated," Wie said on Sunday.
Ultimately, Wie made quite a splash in her professional debut -- just not the way she intended. And she wound up stealing all the attention from Sorenstam, who turned in one of her most dominant performances of the year.
Sorenstam cares more about winning than sending emphatic statements, yet she managed to do both on Sunday.
"It's obviously very satisfying," Sorenstam said. "It's a big week for many reasons."
Asked about those reasons, she talked about joining Mickey Wright as the only players to win the same tournament five times since the LPGA Tour began in 1950 and clinching the LPGA Tour money title.
But there was more.
"I want to play well when everyone is talking about someone else," she said.
"I'm very competitive."
She started with a four-shot lead over Gloria Park, built her lead to nine shots at the turn and led by as many as 10 shots until hitting into the desert and making double bogey on the last hole for a 3-under 69.
Even that became a mess. The LPGA Tour posted her score as 68 with a bogey on the last hole, and no one knew she made double bogey until her press conference. The volunteer keeping score didn't realize Sorenstam took a penalty shot for an unplayable lie, and while Sorenstam signed for the right score, it wasn't verified because the rules officials were busy with Wie.
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