Micheel moves into semifinals at Wentworth

Shaun Micheel figured he would join his wife at Newbury for the horse races Friday, but those plans were scrapped when he knocked out Tiger Woods in Thursday’s first round of the World Match Play Championship in Virginia Water, England.

Still riding high at Wentworth, he looked sharp against Luke Donald.

Micheel made six birdies in the first 12 holes and buried Donald, holding on for a 4-and-2 victory that sent him into the semifinals with three Ryder Cup players from Europe.

“When you beat the No. 1 player in the world – and I beat him – I’m just beaming with confidence right now,” Micheel said.

Colin Montgomerie went 36 holes for the second straight day, beating top seed and defending champion Michael Campbell on the final hole.

In the other two quarterfinal matches, Robert Karlsson of Sweden defeated Angel Cabrera of Argentina 4 and 3, and Paul Casey of England beat Mike Weir of Canada 5 and 3. Casey plays Montgomerie in one semifinal today. The other match puts Micheel against Karlsson.

84 Lumber Classic

She was playing in the 84 Lumber Classic men’s tournament in Farmington, Pa., and, for a while, it appeared Michelle Wie might shoot an 84.

Wie’s drives constantly landed short of the big-hitting pros, forcing her to use long irons on her second shots when the men were pulling out 7-irons. Her putts wouldn’t drop, either, during a second-round 81 – even those routine 4- to 6-footers most on tour can sink by the dozens.

“She’s certainly not scaring anybody around here,” said Ryder Cup team member Scott Verplank, who also missed the cut. “To be honest, I didn’t even know she was here.”

Wie, who turns 17 next month, tried and failed for a sixth time in her short career to make the cut in PGA Tour event, something no woman has done since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945. But while Wie came close a couple of times, she looked badly out of place during her second last-place finish in as many weeks against men.

Her rounds of 77 and 81 left her 13 shots away from making the cut and a whopping 23 shots behind co-leaders Ryan Moore and Ben Curtis.

Moore’s 5-under-par 67 matched the low round. Sean O’Hair, Charles Howell III and first-round leader Nicholas Thompson were two shots back.

Champions Tour

Jim Thorpe was even par after playing four holes in unspectacular fashion. On his second shot at No. 5, he hit a 3-wood about 238 yards to 3 feet, then tapped in for an eagle.

Thorpe finished with a 6-under 66 to take a two-shot lead into the clubhouse in the rain-delayed first round of the Constellation Energy Classic in Hunt Valley, Md. Play in the Champions Tour event was suspended after 43 of the 79 players completed 18 holes.

Massy Kuramoto, Tom Jenkins and Walter Hall finished at 68, and Brad Bryant, Mark Johnson and Hajime Meshiai also were 4 under when play was halted.

Arnold Palmer, competing for the first time since October, shot an 89.