In a sense, Michelle Wie is playing with house money this week … and in her own house.

She has all the comforts of being where she grew up, including the cooking of her mom, Bo, or at Uncle Bo’s, her favorite local eatery. More important, who in the field of the Lotte Championship at Ko Olina Golf Club knows the wind and greens better than she?

Still, after finally getting that first hometown win as a pro here last year — a prelude to capturing the U.S. Open — one of the p-words remains in play.

Not potential. Put that one away, at least for a while. Last year, with her triumph here and ensuing first major victory, Wie proved she can win — and not just as a fluke, hushing many of her detractors.

Those still unconvinced? If this were a different sport where swag was considered acceptable, all she’d have to do is say, "Scoreboard."

But taunting and gloating is frowned upon in this game where confidence is the most precious and fragile of commodities.

Confidence. It was Wie’s second-favorite word at Tuesday’s pre-tournament media opportunity.

No. 1 was that other p-word, pressure. She said it six times, trying to emphasize that there is none.

But, this is golf. There’s always pressure, just varying levels. Her goal this week is to walk that fine line of relaxed intensity. And — when it is needed like last year, when she shot 67 in her final round to win from four strokes back — the competitive fire and exquisite shot-making to seal the deal.

Wie said she can forget about pressure and focus on golf as a game, and the rest will take care of itself. Just because she’s not stressing out doesn’t mean she’s complacent.

"I think the competitiveness will always be there for me," said Wie, who enters this tourney $75,766 short of $5 million in career earnings. "I want to do great, I want to win. I think for me, keeping the pressure off of myself allows me to be competitive. I think sometimes when I’m putting too much pressure on myself I don’t get competitive, I just kind of worry and stress. Whereas if I keep things fun it becomes a game and I get to compete with myself and I get to feel those competitive juices flowing. So for me, when I have fun I feel more competitive."

Wie is in a much better place in the big picture now than a year ago. But she enters Thursday’s first round (12:39 p.m. tee time) after a not-quite-sizzling start to 2015: tied for 57th at the Kraft Nabisco/Dinah Shore (sorry, the ANA Inspiration … but can the LPGA please stop changing the name of a major?), and tied for 29th at the Kia Classic.

Instead of fretting over recent events, Wie will flash back to the good times of last year.

"Every day I want to keep trying to build on top of that," she said.

In addition to the two wins, there were 11 other top-10 finishes in 2014, including a runner-up at Kraft. So, there was plenty of consistency to go with the magic in her bag.

What better place and time for it to return than here and now?

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.