Wie to Be First Female on Nationwide Tour

L.A. Times Archives

May 16, 2003 12 AM PT

From Staff and wire reports

Teenager Michelle Wie has accepted a sponsor’s exemption to play in the Boise Open on the Nationwide Tour, and will become the first female to compete on the PGA Tour’s developmental circuit.

Wie, an eighth-grader in Honolulu who already hits the ball longer than some PGA Tour players, will be the third female this year to go head to head with the men.

Annika Sorenstam, the No. 1 woman in golf, will become the first woman in 58 years to play on the PGA Tour next week at the Colonial at Fort Worth.

Suzy Whaley, a Connecticut club pro, qualified last year for the Greater Hartford Open by winning a PGA sectional tournament from a shorter set of tees. That tournament will be played in late July.

Wie already will have experience by the time she gets to the Boise Open on Sept. 15-21.

She also has been invited to play in the Canadian Tour’s Bay Mills Open Players’ Championship on Aug. 21-24 in Brimley, Mich.

“She is exploring unlimited possibilities,” said her father, B.J. Wie, a University of Hawaii professor.

“I hope she makes a good impression on the Nationwide Tour players.”

The 13-year-old Wie said her 290-yard drives shouldn’t intimidate the men.

“If I play good, then I think they should be able to practice more and beat me later on,” Wie said.

Wie already has made an impression on PGA Tour players, who watched her play during the Hawaii swing in January. Tom Lehman first called her the “Big Wiesy” because her swing reminds him of Ernie Els’. Players call Els the “Big Easy.”

Jeff Sluman shot a bogey-free seven-under 63, including birdies on his last three holes, and held the first-round lead at the $5.6-million Byron Nelson Championship at Irving, Texas.

Billy Andrade was at 64, along with Jim Furyk and Kevin Sutherland. Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson were among 11 players at 65.

Tiger Woods shot a three-under-par 69 and was four strokes off the lead after the first round of the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open at Alveslohe, Germany.

Woods was in a 13-way tie for 15th place behind co-leaders Padraig Harrington and Retief Goosen, who opened with 65s.

Tennis

Jennifer Capriati fought the urge to be aggressive, and her patience was rewarded with a berth in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open at Rome. The fifth-seeded Capriati beat Nadia Petrova, 7-5, 6-3. Petrova’s powerful serve forced Capriati’s patience.

Capriati was joined in the quarterfinals by Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters and Amelie Mauresmo.

The top-ranked Williams defeated Nathalie Dechy, 6-3, 6-0; second-seeded Clijsters beat Cara Black, 6-0, 6-3, and fourth-seeded Mauresmo defeated Anna Pistolesi, 6-0, 6-3.

In doubles, 46-year-old Martina Navratilova and 17-year-old Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Janet Lee and Wynne Prakusya, 7-5, 6-4.

Top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt, three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten and third-seeded Roger Federer had a rough day on clay, all losing in the third round of the Hamburg Masters at Germany.

Hewitt was upset by Fernando Gonzalez, 3-6, 6-0, and the 11th-seeded Kuerten lost to Wayne Ferreira, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

Federer, the tournament’s defending champion, lost to Mark Philippoussis, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

College Football

Georgia Tech declared 10 players, among them leading rusher Tony Hollings, academically ineligible for next season.

“I’m disappointed for these young men,” Georgia Tech Coach Chan Gailey said. “I hope that they will work toward continuing their education, and we will do everything we can to help them.

“This is a challenging school with high academic standards that will not be compromised.”

Starting defensive end Tony Hargrove, who had 49 tackles and four sacks last season, and reserves Anthony Lawston, Kingi McNair and Michael Sampson also will miss next season. The other players weren’t identified by the school, which cited privacy issues.

Pro Football

Cleveland Brown linebacker and former UCLA standout Jamir Miller announced his retirement because the Achilles’ tendon he ruptured last August hasn’t healed well enough to allow him to play.

“The good part about it is that I had a chance to play for nine years and I had a great career and I did finish my career on top as an All-Pro,” said Miller, 29. “I reached all my goals as a player except one, and that’s a Super Bowl ring.”

The St. Louis Rams promoted Lawrence McCutcheon to director of player personnel. McCutcheon, with the franchise for 30 seasons, was director of scouting for four years. He was a five-time Pro Bowl running back with the Rams in their Los Angeles days.

Miscellany

Top heavyweight contender Vitali Klitschko will face unbeaten Cedric Boswell on the undercard of the fight between heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and Kirk Johnson at Staples Center on June 21.

Keira Goerl and Michelle Turner combined on a perfect game as UCLA defeated Colgate, 8-0, in a first-round NCAA softball regional game at Fresno.

Fresno State’s Jamie Southern hit a two-run homer and pitched a five-hitter in a 3-0 victory over Long Beach State.

Eric Jodie Cox pitched a three-hitter and Amy LaRocque drove in all of the Titan runs as Cal State Fullerton defeated Rider of Lawrenceville, N.J., 3-0, at Fullerton.

In other games at Fullerton, Louisiana Lafayette advanced with a 6-0 victory over San Diego State on Brooke Mitchell’s no-hitter.