Sensational 16-Year-Old Returns to Site of her Professional Debut For Exclusive 20-Player Event at BIGHORN Golf Club Oct. 9-15
PALM DESERT, Calif. – She was the talk of not only the golf world, but the sporting world for the way she seized the spotlight in her professional debut against the world’s greatest women golfers. And Michelle Wie is hoping the third time will charm her with the winner’s crystal for the Samsung World Championship.
For the third consecutive year, Wie accepted a Championship Selection Committee invitation to play in the prestigious, 20-player event, which is Oct. 9-15 at BIGHORN Golf Club’s Canyons Course in Palm Desert.
Wie rejoins a familiar face: two-time defending champion Annika Sorenstam, who has already qualified by virtue of winning her fifth Samsung World Championship, her sixth Vare Trophy and her eighth ADT Official Money List title. The rest of the 20-player field will consist of the four major championship winners from 2006, the leading player from the Ladies European Tour and the leading money winners from the 2006 ADT Official Money List who otherwise don’t qualify.
Stealing as much buzz from Wie’s pro debut as she could, Sorenstam claimed her fifth Championship in record fashion, opening with a 64 and finishing 18-under-par, a total that brought her home eight shots in front of Paula Creamer. Sorenstam’s 8-under-par 64 was the lowest opening round by a Championship winner and the eight-shot victory shattered the event record for largest margin of victory.
That victory came amid a media crush that featured a record 237 credentials issued and representatives from such outlets as CBS’s "60 Minutes," CNBC, the Times of London and the New York Times in attendance. Most had their eyes, cameras and pens focused on Wie’s every move.
"The Samsung World Championship is a wonderful tournament and I am honored to play in it again," Wie said. "Last year, the event marked the start of my professional career and I will always remember my debut. The Samsung
World Championship has provided a great foundation for developing my game the past two years. I love the BIGHORN Golf Club and community. All these factors will make the tournament week extra special this coming October."
Wie’s professional debut was memorable on numerous fronts, not the least of which being her disqualification for signing an incorrect scorecard in the wake of an incorrect drop on the seventh hole during her third-round. That spoiled what was an impressive professional baptism to that point; Wie opened with rounds of 70-65 and would have earned $53,126 for her fourth-place finish.
"You know, I learned a great lesson today," Wie said after the ruling. "You know from now on, I’m going to call a rule official no matter what it is. And, you know, I’m really sad that this happened, but you know, the rules are the rules. Three inches or 100 yards, it’s the same thing. I respect that."
Wie’s classy response to the setback brought her more fans to a swelling crowd wowed by her graceful swing that routinely produces 300-yard drives and a precocious charm and charisma that has produced countless cover stories before Wie entered high school in Honolulu.
Of course, those stories chronicled a golf career that is ascendant as it is precocious in nature. In her 2004 Samsung World Championship debut, the then-14-year-old shook off opening rounds of 74-72 by shooting 67-70 on the weekend. Wie’s weekend total of 137 was second only to eventual champion Sorenstam’s 136.
That is the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to Wie’s accomplishments, which seem to get more impressive each year. Already in 2006, Wie owns a third-place finish at the inaugural Fields Open, a performance that vaulted her to the No. 2 spot in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Not that there isn’t ample reasons for this lofty perch in Wie’s list of accomplishments:
â?¢ Wie opened 2005 by finishing second at the LPGA’s SAS Open to Sorenstam. She then tied for 14th at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, following up her T4 finish in 2004. She also finished second at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship and tied for third at the Weetabix Women’s British Open. In addition, she was tied for the lead entering the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open before finishing T23. It was also the year Wie made the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, beating two accomplished collegiate golfers before succumbing to the eventual champion.
â?¢ Aside from her Kraft Nabisco and Samsung escapades in 2004, Wie became the youngest player to see action in the Curtis Cup, winning two singles matches to help the U.S. defeat Great Britain and Ireland, 10-8. It also marked the first time she played in the PGA TOUR’s SONY Open, where she missed the cut by a shot.
â?¢ In 2003, Wie finished 9th in her Kraft Nabisco debut, then won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links to become the youngest player to win that event.
â?¢ The previous year, Wie reached the semifinals of the Women’s Amateur Public Links and became the youngest player to Monday qualify for an LPGA event: the LPGA Takefuji Classic.
â?¢ In 2001, at the age of 11, Wie won the Hawaii Women’s Stroke Play Championship.
â?¢ In 2000, at the age of 10, she fired a 64 on a regulation golf course and became the youngest player to qualify for the Women’s Amateur Public Links.
Wie, who will turn 17 on the Saturday of the Championship, is a high school senior at the Punahoa School in Honolulu. She is scheduled to play in eight LPGA events this year, a total that includes all four major championships.
Wie and Sorenstam are the only two players entered in the 2006 field to date in the 72-hole stroke-play event, which has been contested on five continents in 25 years.
Tickets for the Samsung World Championship will go on sale later this month, with special Early Bird pricing for tickets purchased between March 27 and April 10.
About Samsung
Samsung is a world leader in electronics, finance, and trade and services. Headquartered in Korea, Samsung operates 337 offices and facilities in 58 different countries. The company employs approximately 222,000 people worldwide, with 2004 net sales of US $121.7 billion.
Samsung believes that sports play a unique role in unifying people regardless of age, race, or gender. Samsung is a passionate supporter and active corporate sponsor of amateur and professional sporting events, training programs, teams and individual athletes in Korea and around the world.
The company extended its commitment to sports by becoming a worldwide Olympic Partner of the International Olympic Committee in 1997. Samsung’s official Olympic Games partnership will continue with the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
For more information, please visit our website: www.samsung.com.
About BIGHORN Golf Club
BIGHORN Golf Club, a private club, has two spectacular golf courses. The CANYONS Course, designed by Tom Fazio, will provide a challenge for the world’s best lady golfers. The par-72, 7,083 yard Tom Fazio layout, is set among rock-studded canyons, copper foothills, meandering streams, majestic waterfalls, and rich desert flora. The back nine is located in the upper elevations, with many holes nestled along a natural desert wash and into the existing canyons of the Santa Rosa Mountains. The course was opened in December 1998 and hosted the BATTLE AT BIGHORN in 2000-2001-2002.
BIGHORN is also home to the Arthur Hills-designed MOUNTAINS Course, a par-72, 6,871-yard breath-taking course winding through the foothills and valleys of the Santa Rosa Mountains providing panoramic vistas of Palm Desert and the entire Coachella Valley. The MOUNTAINS Course has been home to THE SKINS GAME from 1992-1995 and also host to the 1998 World Senior Match Play Challenge.
For a private tour, contact BIGHORN Properties at 800-551-5578.
Contact:
Toby Zwikel/Brian Robin/Dana von Louda
Brener Zwikel & Associates, Inc.
(818) 344-6195 ext. 104 /110/107
