Associated Press
Posted: 4:16 am
July 20, 2008
After finishing Friday and yesterday in second place at the State Farm Classic, Michelle Wie was one good round away from finally living up to her deep potential.
Then, minutes after tapping in her last putt of the third round, Wie sat red-eyed at a folding table in front of a couple dozen baffled reporters and photographers, explaining why she'd been disqualified from the tournament.
The 18-year-old, playing her best golf of the year, broke one of the game's most basic rules: She failed to sign her scorecard before leaving the scoring area.
"I don't know why or how it happened," Wie said.
Wie took no questions before leaving the clubhouse at Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield, Ill. She climbed into an SUV with her parents and drove away.
That left Yani Tseng leading the tournament at 18 under, followed by Katie Futcher at 16 under and Hee-Won Han and Ji Young Oh another shot back. If Wie wasn't disqualified, she would have been 17 under, one shot off the lead,
Sue Witters, the LPGA's director of tournament competitions, disqualified Wie in a small office in an LPGA trailer at the course after asking her what had happened.
"She was like a little kid after you tell them there's no Santa Claus," Witters said.
And with that, Wie was gone from a tournament where either the $255,000 winner's purse or the $155,252 second prize would have put her comfortably within the top 80 money winners for the year - and virtually guaranteed her a place on the LPGA Tour next year.
Wie told reporters that after she finished her round Friday, she left the tent just above the ninth green where players sign their scorecards. She was chased down by volunteers working in the tent, who pointed out she hadn't signed.
Wie returned to the tent and signed the card, and "I thought it would be OK," she said.
But Wie, according to Witters, already had walked outside the roped-off area around the tent. At that point, the mistake was final, Witters said.
Witters said she and other tour officials didn't learn about the mistake from volunteers until well after Wie teed off in the morning, so they let her finish the round.
PGA TOUR
Second-round leader Nick Flanagan birdied his final hole to join fellow Australian Gavin Coles in first place after three rounds at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.
Flanagan, who shared the second-round lead with Richard S. Johnson of Sweden, shot a 1-under 69 and Coles a 68 to get to 11 under at Brown Deer Park Golf Course.
Johnson also birdied the 18th hole to shoot even-par 70, tied with Jon Mills (64), George McNeill (66) and Ken Duke (68) a stroke back of the leaders.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
In Blaine, Minn., R.W. Eaks shot an 9-under 63 for a three-stroke lead over Gene Jones and Loren Roberts after the second round of the 3M Championship.
Eaks has a 128 through two rounds, the best two-round score on tour this year.
First-round leader Dana Quigley is four shots back at 12 under. Bernhard Langer is at 11 under.
