 | R1 LEADERBOARD US unless stated
-4 B Quigley, S Cink, T Byrum, H Kuehne
-3 J Kaye, P Azinger, C Campbell, S Maruyama (Jpn), J Sluman, T Lehman, W Austin, J Rose (Eng), A Magee
Others:
-1 V Singh (Fij), G Owen (Eng), T Hamilton
+1 E Els (SA)
+4 L Donald (Eng), I Poulter (Eng)
+5 M Wie (am), P Casey (Eng)
*US unless stated |
Teenager Michelle Wie slumped to an opening five-over 75 to be nine shots off the Sony Open lead in Hawaii. The 15-year-old local favourite missed the cut by one shot last year but struggled to keep up with the pace of the leading quartet in gusty winds.
Brett Quigley, Stewart Cink, Tom Byrum and Hank Kuehne all shot 66s.
Britain's Justin Rose fired a three-under 67 as world number one Vijay Singh took 69 and defending champion Ernie Els carded 71.
World number two Tiger Woods opted to miss the event.
Singh, who dominated last season by winning nine events and more than $10m (�5.3m), said: "An under-par score will be good.
"The whole course was tough with these winds. It's very hard to keep the ball in play. The winds are causing havoc out there.
"It's tough for the boys here, you know. It's going to be tough for a girl too."
|  Last year I was winless and that kind of made me mad |
Wie is aiming to become the first female to make the cut at a PGA Tour event since Babe Zaharias in 1945.
A year ago, she grabbed the golfing spotlight when she shot a second-round 68, the lowest score by a woman competing against men.
This year, expectations are higher at Honolulu's Waialae Country Club.
"People always expect that if you're so close, then you definitely should make the cut this year," said Wie.
"But it has a lot to do with the luck and the way you're playing that day, and hopefully I'll catch a good day."
On her first nine she leaked a double bogey and two bogeys and started with back-to-back dropped shots on the inward half before finishing with six successive pars.
"A couple of holes weren't very much fun," Wie said.
"A couple of holes were super hard. I hit some really good shots but they just didn't turn out right. I tried to hit low under the wind but sometimes it's tough."
But she was in good company on five over, alongside European Ryder Cup player Paul Casey and US Tour veteran Fred Funk.
Before the round, Wie insisted that 2005 would be the year she won her first tournament on the women's LPGA Tour.
"Last year I was winless and that kind of made me mad. So this year I'm going to try to get some wins," she said.
MMIX
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