Wie moves one step closer to Masters with match win
Michelle Wie took another step toward a possible Masters invitation.
Wie made a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole to edge Will Claxton 1-up in her first match at the men’s Amateur Public Links Wednesday at Shaker Run Country Club in Lebanon, Ohio.
“I’m very relieved I got through today,” Wie said. “It was really tough out there. It felt good after I made that putt. I have a lot more days to go, so hopefully I can keep that trend going.”
The 15-year-old, who will be a high school junior this fall, is the first female to qualify for a men’s USGA championship. She’s playing in the APL because the winner traditionally gets an invitation to play at Augusta.
Wie still has a long way to go. She would have to win five more matches before getting the coveted invitation.
“Tomorrow’s a whole new day,” she said when asked about her upcoming match.
Wie advances to play C.D. Hockersmith of Richmond, Ind., in the second round today. The third round of match play follows in the afternoon.
•Co-medalists Mari Chun and Angela Park easily won their first-round matches in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links in Kansas City, Mo.
Chun, a 17-year-old from Hawaii, defeated Patty Chawalitmetha of Bellflower, Calif., 4 and 3. Park, a 16-year-old from Torrance, Calif., birdied four of the first five holes at Swope Memorial in a 7 and 6 victory over Felicia Johnston of Tigard, Ore.
Also advancing was defending champion Ya-Ni Tseng, a 16-year-old of Taiwan who beat Michelle Wie in last year’s final. Tseng, who struggled to qualify with a 10-over 152 for 36 holes of stroke play, defeated Sung Lee of Tacoma 3 and 1.
Three more inducted to World Hall of Fame
Four-time British Open champion Willie Park Sr., architect Alister Mackenzie and British journalist Bernard Darwin were selected for the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Darwin and Mackenzie will be inducted through the lifetime achievement category, while Park will enter through the veteran’s category.
All three will be inducted posthumously on Nov. 14 at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla. Other members of the class include Vijay Singh, Karrie Webb and Japanese star Ayako Okamoto, who were selected in May.
Park won the inaugural British Open in 1860 at Prestwick, and went on to win three more times. Brother Mungo Park won in 1874, and son, Willie Park Jr., won the Open twice.
Mackenzie is one of the most famous golf course architects, designing more than 100 courses between 1918 and his death in 1934. Along with Augusta National, he designed Royal Melbourne in Australia, Lahinch in Ireland and Cypress Point in Pebble Beach, Calif.
Darwin is credited for inventing daily golf writing. He covered golf for The Times of London from 1907 to 1953, and for Country Life from 1907 to 1961.