Wie wins another one, advances to third round

Thursday, July 14, 2005 | 10:56 a.m.

SUN WIRE SERVICES

LEBANON, Ohio -- Michelle Wie played through a persistent drizzle today to easily advance in her second match at the men's Amateur Public Links.

A 15-year-old high school junior-to-be, Wie is the first female to qualify for a men's U.S. Golf Association championship, rolled to a 6-and-5 victory against C.D. Hockersmith of Richmond, Ind. Wie was scheduled to play the next round later today against the winner of the match between Tyler Neal of Tucson, Ariz., and Jim Renner of Plainville, Mass.

Every year since 1989, the winner of the APL has gotten an invitation to the Masters. Wie went through APL qualifying in hopes of earning a spot at Augusta National.

Wie won the first hole with a birdie, hitting a 3-foot putt, and never trailed against Hockersmith. She birdied three of the first four holes -- winning them all -- and then parred the par-3 5th for a 5-up lead.

Hockersmith finally won a hole after hitting his approach to 5 feet at the par-3 8th. He also won the 10th hole with a par, but the early deficit was too much to overcome. Wie closed him out on the 13th green.

To win the APL, she still must win her third round match today, quarterfinal and semifinal matches on Friday -- and the 36-hole final Saturday.

After shooting rounds of 76 and 72 during medal play, she defeated Auburn's Will Claxton 1-up with a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole in her first-round match Wednesday.

Renner, 21, plays at Johnson & Wales University in Miami, where he was the medalist at the NAIA tournament this year. He lost in the first round of APL match play a year ago.

Neal, 19, will be a sophomore on the University of Arizona golf team. He failed to qualify for the APL a year ago.

Wie's morning round today was a stark contrast to her first match play on Wednesday, when she was forced to come from behind to defeat Will Claxton.

Making several clutch shots down the stretch -- including a dramatic 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole to edge Claxton 1-up in their 18-hole match -- Wie made another big stride toward becoming the first woman to play in the Masters.

Although now the second most popular player in golf behind Tiger Woods, Wie is still at a disadvantage here when it comes to age, experience and strength against most of the men. She called herself an underdog against Claxton, and on paper that's how it looked.

A 23-year-old Auburn grad, Claxton was part of a Southeastern Conference championship team and made it to the quarterfinals of this tournament last year. But afterward, he admitted he never has been caught in a spectacle like he found himself in Wednesday. Even with a non-stop rain, the gallery grew to 600 people and he figured all but one -- "my girlfriend's father flew in last night" -- were for Wie.

That's what Hockersmith faced today when he met Wie.

"She did an incredible job," Claxton said. "I didn't play bad out there. I hit some good iron shots, but she hit fairways and greens and she putted really good. She's a great golfer. The whole world knows that pretty much. I was very impressed. She is just as good as they said she was."

And she was far better than some said.

Tuesday, 48-year-old Danny Green, a USGA veteran who had posted the second lowest score after two days of medal play, took a couple of very public swipes at Wie.

He said she didn't belong here. That "females belong with females." That men can't play in women's tournaments so they shouldn't play here. And besides, he couldn't see her winning out here.

When Wie was told that Green had been upset in his opening-round match, she first feigned teen indifference, then reached for the verbal driver: "I have good news for him. If he really wants to play with the women, he can. He just has to get a sex change."