Michelle Wie, the 15-year-old golf sensation who barely missed making the cut in January's PGA Sony Open, will challenge the men again here next month and this time is aiming for a top-20 finish.
Tournament officials announced on Wednesday that the Hawaiian 10th-grade student would be granted a sponsor's exemption to play in the event, set for Jan. 13 to Jan. 16 at Waialae Country Club.
PHOTO: AFP
"My goal is to be in the top 20," Wie told the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper. "I'm definitely looking forward to it. I will try to practise there as much as I can."
The long-driving women's golf prodigy fired rounds of 72 and 68 to finish in a share of 80th at level par 140 last year, finishing ahead of 48 men in the first full-field PGA Tour event of the 2004 season.
Wie, whose 68 was the best round by a woman competing in an otherwise all-male pro golf field, has spent more time on fitness training and proper nutrition this year and uses an exercise ball to increase upper body strength.
"I'm a lot stronger than last year," she said.
Wie won last year's US Women's Amateur Public Links crown and showed peak form in major events against the LPGA Tour's top players, placing fourth in the Nabisco Championship and sharing 13th at the US Women's Open.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS