Michelle Wie grew up in Hawaii, so naturally she should feel comfortable in her home state. That was accentuated last year when Wie rallied from four strokes behind to win the LPGA Lotte Championship for her first professional victory in Hawaii. The course is located about 30 minutes west of her childhood home in Honolulu.
The victory last year was instrumental in Wie having her best season on the LPGA, highlighted by a victory in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2, her first major championship win.
Wie first competed as an amateur in a LPGA event at the 2002 LPGA Takefuji Classic when she became the youngest player to Monday qualify for a LPGA event at age 12 years, 4 months, 14 days. In five LPGA starts in Hawaii from 2002-2009, she recorded two runner-up finishes – as a 15-year-old at the 2005 SBS Open at Turtle Bay, two behind winner Jennifer Rosales, and the 2009 SBS Open at Turtle Bay, three behind winner Angela Stanford. Additionally, as a 16-year old, Wie shot a final-round 66 at the 2006 Fields Open in Hawaii – played at this week’s site, Ko Olina – to finish third, one stroke out of a playoff.
She also made four of her eight career sponsor exemption starts on the PGA Tour at the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu. Wie has won four times on the LPGA, at the 2009 Lorena Ochoa Invitational, the 2010 CN Canadian Women’s Open, the 2014 LPGA Lotte Championship and the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open.
Here’s a look at Wie’s professional history in tournaments in Hawaii:
| LPGA | ||||
| Date | Tournament | Site | Winner | Wie score |
| Feb. 28-March 2, 2002 | LPGA Takefuji Classic | Waikoloa Beach Resort | Annika Sorenstam | 72-74, age 12, MC by 3 |
| Feb. 24-26, 2005 | SBS Open at Turtle Bay | Turtle Bay Resort | Jennifer Rosales | 70-70-70, age 15, T2 by 2 |
| Feb. 23-25, 2006 | Fields Open in Hawaii | Ko Olina GC | Meena Lee | 67-70-66, age 16, third by 1 |
| Feb. 21-23, 2008 | Fields Open in Hawaii | Ko Olina GC | Paula Creamer | 69-73-78, age 18, T72 |
| Feb. 12-14, 2009 | SBS Open at Turtle Bay | Turtle Bay Resort | Angela Stanford | 66-70-73, age 19, 2nd by 3 |
| April 18-21, 2012 | LPGA Lotte Championship | Ko Olina GC | Ai Miyazato | 78-76, age 22, MC |
| April 17-20, 2013 | LPGA Lotte Championship | Ko Olina GC | Suzann Pettersen | 70-76-69-68, age 23, T28 |
| April 16-19, 2014 | LPGA Lotte Championship | Ko Olina GC | Michelle Wie | 70-67-70-67, age 24, Win |
| PGA Tour | ||||
| Jan. 15-18, 2004 | Sony Open in Hawaii | Waialae CC | Ernie Els | 72-68, age 14, MC by 1 |
| Jan. 13-16, 2005 | Sony Open in Hawaii | Waialae CC | Vijay Singh | 75-74, age 15, MC by 7 |
| Jan. 12-15, 2006 | Sony Open in Hawaii | Waialae CC | David Toms | 79-68, age 16, MC by 4 |
| Jan. 11-14, 2007 | Sony Open in Hawaii | Waialae CC | Paul Goydos | 78-76, age 17, MC by 14 |
KPMG Event Two Months Away
Promotional spots for the KPMG Women’s LPGA Championship have begun, with Stacy Lewis and Phil Mickelson, both KPMG clients, sharing the bill in two commercials. The KPMG Women's PGA Championship and the KPMG Women's Leadership Summit will take place the week of June 9 at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y.
“I was happy to do it,” Mickelson said after the second round of the Masters. “I think that I'm, first of all, proud to represent KPMG and I'm proud for what they're doing for women's golf. They're running one of the premier major championships in women's golf. I think it's the second highest purse on the LPGA Tour. They're doing it right. They're getting together strong women leaders in business to help others. I just, I'm proud to be a part of that.
“When you have two daughters, it's even more important.”
Mickelson has three children and the two oldest are girls – Amanda, 15, and Sophia, 13.
Major field
Even though the top two ranked players in the world, Lydia Ko and Stacy Lewis, aren’t in this week’s field, the five reigning major champions are playing in Hawaii.
They include: Brittany Lincicome, 2015 ANA Inspiration, coming off her victory two weeks ago; Hyo Joo Kim , 2014 Evian Championship; Inbee Park, 2014 LPGA Championship and No. 3 in the World; Mo Martin, 2014 RICOH Women’s British Open; and Michelle Wie, 2014 U.S. Women’s Open.
Etc.
This week’s event is scheduled for Wednesday through Saturday with the Golf Channel showing all four rounds live from 7-11 p.m., EDT. … There have been eight different winners in the first eight events this season: Na Yeon Choi, Sei Young Kim, Lydia Ko, Amy Yang, Inbee Park, Hyo Joo Kim, Cristie Kerr and Brittany Lincicome. In 2014, there were two double winners in the first eight tournaments (Karrie Webb and Ana Nordqvist).
)
)
)
)
