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).

Stats and Stuff: Wie Finds Her Spark in Hawaii

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