USGA: Wie ties for top score, is first female to qualify for Public Links

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05166/521728.stm

The outcome, for Michelle Wie, justified everything that preceded it. Because Wie was a 15-year-old golf prodigy competing among older amateurs, and because Wie was a female competing among 84 men, she stood out from the minute she took her first of 145 golf strokes.

Most golfers yesterday were trailed by their parents, maybe a smattering of relatives. Wie was trailed by her parents ... and roughly 100 spectators ... and an armed officer. On a break in between the 36-hole marathon, she didn't eat with the other golfers. She ducked into a private room. She signed autographs at the end, penning her name even for those who had played against her.

She stood out in every way. And by finishing tied for first -- equal with Altoona's Artie Fink Jr. with a 1-over 145 -- Wie justified the hype that she never even wanted in the first place. By finishing among the top two at yesterday's qualifier, Wie clinched a spot in next month's U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, in Lebanon, Ohio.

That means several things: Wie became the first female to qualify for a USGA championship. She can dig deeper into history if she wins the July 11-16 amateur championship because the winner of that event gains a ticket to the Masters. That remains Wie's goal.