Hawaii's Michelle Wie Accepts Invitation to U.S. Women's Open

Michelle Wie, of Honolulu, Hawaii has been offered and has accepted a special exemption to compete in the 2004 U.S. Women's Open Championship to be played at the Orchards Golf Club in South Hadley, Massachusetts from July 1-4, 2004. The special exeption allows Wie to bypass qualifying for the tournament. This is the first time that an amateur has been given a free pass to the biggest tournament in women's golf.

The top 35 players on the LPGA Tour money list are exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Women's Open Championship. Wie has played in three LPGA events in 2004 as an amateur. She finished fourth at the LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship, 12th at the Mochelop Ultra Open at Kingsmill and tied for 19th at the Safeway International.

Earlier in January, she missed the cut at the PGA Tour's Sony Open in Hawaii by only one stroke. Had Wie been eligible to receive her winnings for the LPGA events, she would currently be ranked 28th on the money list and automatically qualify for the Open.

This will be the second consecutive U.S. Women's Open for the 14-year-old Wie, who is the reining U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Champion. She is also scheduled to compete for the United States in the Curtis Cup Match which will be held at he Formby Golf CLub in Merseyside, England from June 12-13, 2004. She will then defend her Public Links title at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Virginia from June 22 - 27, 2004.

The 6-foot tall Wie is generally acknowledged to be the most talented young player ever to take part in an LPGA event. In 2003, at the age of thirteen she finished in a tie for ninth in the LPGA’s Kraft Nabisco Championship. She is currently a ninth-grader at Punahou School on Oahu and one of the biggest attractions in golf.

For more information about Michelle Wie, check out the special section on this young Hawaiian golfer from About's Golf Guide, Brent Kelley.