EDINA, Minn. (June 26, 2008) - So I walk into Interlachen Country Club to begin WorldGolf.com’s live coverage of the U.S. Women’s Open and Michelle Wie is putting together an 8-over 81 first round that puts her only 14 shots behind Ji Young Oh’s tournament lead.

So much for all those comically predictable stories that led into today on Wie being on the comeback trail after a tie for 24th.

The more things change in golf, the more they stay the same. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been away from the women’s game, show up at a major tournament and you’ll see Wie blow up. In keeping with the sports psychologist babble that earns more scorn from Wie realists than even her play, the reeling hype machine feels she is close though.

“I can spring back tomorrow and shoot a low round,” Wie said moments ago.

Wie talked about having four or five great looks at birdies that she just couldn’t convert. She touted how “comfortable” she feels over her second shots. And yes, she worked in more excuses about the slowest-healing wrist in sports’ history.

“It’s recovering a bit,” Wie said. “I’m on the road to recovery. And when you’re on the road to recovery, you’re going to have rounds here or there where things don’t work out.”

It really didn’t work out for Wie on the par 4 ninth, where she recovered a 9. Yes, that’s five over in one hole, the kind of thing that would embarrass even Phil Mickelson in a U.S. Open.

“Nine was like a blur,” Wie said. “Nine just happened. I had trouble counting the number of strokes I had. That’s how bad nine was.”

Soon, Wie will be just a blur that passed through Minnesota. Now you see her Nike swoosh, by Saturday you don’t.

For continuing coverage of the U.S. Women’s Open, stay tuned to WorldGolf.com every morning for complete stories and this blog for updates throughout the day.

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