A quick scroll through Michelle Wie’s Instagram feed and, away from the posts about food and fashion, you’ll see the former U.S. Women’s Open champion putting in work, and a lot of it.

Wie hasn’t found the winner’s circle since that U.S. Women’s Open in 2014 (her second win of the season) but is finding herself right in contention once again at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.

She led after the first round a year ago, and after seven birdies Thursday, she’s just two shots back of the lead, in a tie for second.

The 28-year-old finished her day with a bogey, and made her first of the day on the par-4 3rd after starting her day with back-to-back birdies.

But despite the closing bogey, Wie felt good about her opening round.

“I'm over it,” she said of the three-putt on the final green. “I hit a good putt. I just misread it. There isn't anything I can do. I can't think more about it. I can't go back and putt it. But I'll be out there for three more days, and hopefully I won't misread that last green, so I feel good about it.”

Wie said being consistent and building confidence every day has been key this year, and she admitted she’s definitely feeling more confident these days.

She’s been working with her long-time swing coach David Leadbetter trying to be better biomechanically and prevent injuries, which have held Wie back somewhat.

She’s working on her rhythm and building upon her successes from a year ago.

Even though Wie herself hasn’t won in a while, she’s been surrounding herself with some of the Tour’s biggest winners including Danielle Kang and Jessica Korda. Kang is a frequent guest on Wie’s Instagram account, same with Korda, last week’s winner.

After Thursday’s round, Kang said Wie is like the big sister she never got to have. Kang, who won a major last year for her first LPGA Tour victory, said she’s been watching how Wie has been playing and is happy to support her, just like Wie does to her.

“I’m just blessed to have her in my life,” she said.

Although Wie was waving to Kang from across the fairway during her post-round interview, Wie was also waving her wrist to try to keep it loose on Thursday as her arthritis was acting up.

“It looks a lot worse than it actually is. It's really not that bad,” she admitted. “It's been a little bit of a struggle but I've got a good game plan going, more preventative more than anything. But it just looked a lot worse than it actually is.”

Although Wie is sounding like she’s getting older as she battles with arthritis and other injuries that pop up, she’s still not yet 30. When she broke onto the scene as a teenager, she was a phenom. Now, she’s seeing the next generation of teenagers emerge.

“You see the rookies, especially the first tournament in the Bahamas, and they are doe-eyed and so full of hope in their eyes. Everything is great. I’m like, ‘just wait. You. Just. Wait. A couple years,’” she said with a laugh. “It’s great though. It's actually refreshing to see them full of just everything is new, and everything is untarnished.”

For now, Wie is as healthy as possible, and happy. She’s played twice so far in 2018, at the season-opener in the Bahamas where she tied for 11th and last week at the Honda LPGA Thailand where, funny enough, she also finished 11th.

“Missing the top-10 by just one spot each week,” she said with a smile. “Hopefully that will change this week.”

Wie's Hard Work Paying Off in 2018

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