Hawaii’s Michelle Wie shot a good-but-not-great 2-under 70 in the first round of last year’s LPGA Lotte Championship, and wound up a celebrated winner at Ko Olina Golf Club three days later.
Could Wie see a repeat?
Wie shot another 70 on a windy Wednesday to open things up at the 2015 Lotte — but this time she must contend with a five-stroke deficit, thanks to a sizzling 65 by I.K. Kim to close out the day.
Last year, Wie faced a two-stroke hole after Day 1, and rallied from four strokes down on the final day to edge Angela Stanford by one.
More than 100 supporters turned out to form a mobile gallery for the Punahou product.
They saw her birdie her first two holes after the turn — including an outstanding chip-in from about 40 feet on No. 11 — and compile some mostly steady play from there.
"Chip-ins always help," Wie said. "I was joking around with my caddie saying I kind of made up for two bad bounces (on that hole). I had an unlucky bounce into the (fairway) bunker, and then I hit a perfect shot, what I thought, and an unlucky bounce to the right of the green.
"So it all works out, you know."
All told, she had four birdies and two bogeys.
She rolled in a 7-foot downhill putt on the 15th hole to move to 3 under, marking the occasion by giving her yellow ball to a small boy.
But right after, on the par-3 16th, she hit into the rough behind a bunker and faced a difficult chip shot onto the green. She got on, but left herself a par putt of more than 12 feet that she couldn’t save.
She also lamented a bogey on No. 8 in which her shot felt good but the ball went beyond the green.
"I left myself in really difficult situations," Wie said. "It was a windy day out there today. Aside from those, I felt like I did OK."
Wie tees off her second round at 7:44 a.m. on the 10th hole alongside fellow past champions Ai Miyazato and Suzann Pettersen.
The crowds grew steadily for Wie as the 2014 tournament progressed, and it could be the same this year if the 25-year-old remains in contention. She is currently tied for 15th.
"It’s fun to see, you know. It’s nice to see all the local support for her," said Miyazato, the 2012 Lotte winner. "When I play in Japan, I always have that support. It’s definitely like, you trust yourself and (get) motivated, too.
"I know how she feels and … especially (since she is) defending champion. Of course she feels probably a lot of pressure, but like I said if all the local support is pushing her too, so it was good to see them."
Wie is 56th on the LPGA 2015 money list at $50,427, with her best finish a tie for 24th at the Coates golf Championship in late January.
She felt Wednesday was one of her better rounds of the season.
"Yeah, for sure. You know, obviously I’ve been a little bit sick this year, so I think starting from the California swing I just started to feel a little bit healthier and I feel like I’m building on top of it."
Wie parlayed her performance at the 2014 Lotte into a strong follow-up a month later at the U.S. Women’s Open, her first major title.
This "home" tournament could act as a salve for her game again.
"It’s fun. A lot of familiar faces in the crowd. … I feel this every year that I come back," she said. "The support is just so amazing. I feel very blessed, and I hope more people come out on the weekend."
