home

jobs

	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

January 14, 2005

Michelle Wie West

HONOLULU, HAWAII

TODD BUDNICK: We thank Michelle Wie for stopping by after the 4-over 74 today. I know that you're a little disappointed, but you finished with a long, a birdie on No. 18 to give a positive note to otherwise a rough two days for you.

MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I mean, I played a lot of rounds out here, but I don't think -- I've only played like once or twice with this kind of wind. But it was really tough out there. The first day, I think I let myself go shooting 75, but today it was really rough out there. I think I just tried too hard.

TODD BUDNICK: It seemed to be the difference between last year and this year, really just the conditions out there were so much different for you. Talk about that a little bit more.

MICHELLE WIE: The first day, I mean, yesterday, the winds, and today it was just, you know, trying to shoot a low score. But the conditions were so tough, so it was still pretty hard.

TODD BUDNICK: You were cruising along with pars through the first five holes, and then the triple-bogey on 6. Can you walk us through that, and did that take the wind out of your sails there for the day?

MICHELLE WIE: I think it was all momentum today. I should have made a couple of birdies the first couple when I had a chance so I could keep momentum going. After missing putt after putt and just making that triple, that kind of let me down a little bit.

But I still had not given up. I thought, "okay, make six birdies instead of three." It's a little bit more tough but I really tried out there.

TODD BUDNICK: Everybody has to remember, you're still only 15 years old. What kind of things do you take away and walk away from this experience with? Not many people have the opportunity to do what you did this week.

MICHELLE WIE: Well, you know, it was mostly putting this week and making sure that you're in the right part of the fairway and making sure that -- just making your life a lot easier.

You know, being in the fairway, being on the green and you just have to keep momentum going. And when you have a chance, you just have to take it, especially when you don't have a lot of chances out here.

TODD BUDNICK: Okay. We'll open it up to questions.

Q. At what point, Michelle, in the round did you finally realize, "This isn't going the way I wanted"?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I mean, by the triple bogey, I was like, "Oh, God, this is not what I wanted."

But after I -- you know, missing putt after putt after put, it was kind of like, your shoes kind of get heavier and it gets harder because your confidence going of goes down. Then you make a couple of bogeys and I thought, "It's just not my day today."

Q. Was there a point out there when you would rather just go shopping?

MICHELLE WIE: That would be a lot, you know, funner. But it's actually not that bad, you know, hanging in there. I like that kind of, what do you call it, not excitement, but it's like -- I don't know how to explain it. It's like kind of you put yourself in a situation where you want to prove to yourself that you're not like put down and you can get back.

You know, I kind of enjoy that, kind of that -- how do I explain it -- it's not very fun, but it's kind of grueling and I kind of enjoy that.

Q. Looking back, what you did here last year, did it raise your expectations?

MICHELLE WIE: Definitely. You know, make missing the cut by one last year, I thought, I made it so close, I kind of took it for granted that I was going to play better.

You know, I just think that I practiced too hard for it and I think I tried too hard.

Q. Was these two days more of a learning experience for you than last year?

MICHELLE WIE: I think last year everything went too easily. Everything went as I planned, especially the second day when I made every single putt that came to me.

But this year, I had a tougher time. You know, if the putts went in, it would have been a lot better, but I learned a lot of things this week, more from last year I think. I think when you play bad, you learn a lot more.

Q. Would you like to play here next year, or is two years enough?

MICHELLE WIE: No, I mean, I definitely want to play next year. I just want to have another chance at it because I know that I can do better than this.

Q. What do you do between now and next -- what's your next tournament, actually? Is it Turtle Bay or anything in between?

MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, Turtle Bay. I'm just going to go for some retail therapy for a couple days.

Q. Some what?

MICHELLE WIE: Retail therapy. (Laughter.)

Q. Where are you going for that?

MICHELLE WIE: I don't know. I'm just going to go to the mall to some shops, just going to take it easy for the next couple of days and just relax.

Q. What special shops do you have?

MICHELLE WIE: You know, just like going anywhere and just buying stuff; it just makes me feel a lot better.

Q. Have your parents signed off on that?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, they are definitely not lending me any money. (Laughter.)

Q. What's your next competition among the men, not full PGA TOUR event; do you have anything else planned?

MICHELLE WIE: I'm not really sure at this point.

Q. Could you talk about the sixth hole, kind of give us an idea of what the lie was like, what options you had, and what you were trying to do up until you got to the green?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, okay, I was kind of behind a tree and I had an opening. So I was trying to kind of draw it on the tree and draw it around the tree and try to get it on the green. I think I was a little bit too aggressive with it and it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted to. I was in the rough and I had a bad approach shot and I just -- I think I tried to be too cute with it, so I just kind of fluffed it. And then --

Q. How far was that shot, the second one?

MICHELLE WIE: About 60 yards. I thought I hit it okay, but I kind of fluffed it.

And then the chip shot, I hit it super good. I had no idea it would spin that much. I think I just hit it too good.

Then, you know, I just was too aggressive with that putt. I just tried to -- I wanted to make it to try to make it. I just hit it too hard and it was just downhill from there.

Q. Last year there was a lot made of the fact that you finished ahead of, I forgot how many, I think it was 47 or so men -- do you know -- and this year it was 14. Do you take any consolation in that or are you beyond that part?

MICHELLE WIE: I'm just so glad that I'm not in last place, you know, after shooting this bad.

But I just think that, you know, I just have to work a little bit harder get my game a little better.

Q. Would you try to qualify for this event if you didn't get an exemption into it?

MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, definitely, I will try to get in into this tournament.

Q. Did you find it hard to go back to school on Monday last year?

MICHELLE WIE: I don't remember. That's way too long ago for me. I have a really bad memory. I really don't remember.

Q. Do you imagine it would be after such a big excitement this week, what-have-you?

MICHELLE WIE: I don't think I'll be in any mood to go to school. But, you know, it's a fresh new start because it's a whole new semester. So hopefully it will be better.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you very much, Michelle, and good luck with the rest of your year.

End of FastScripts.

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297