Waialae Country Club is a private country club in East Honolulu, Hawaii . Founded in 1927 and designed by Seth Raynor , it is a par 72 championship course at 7,125 yards (6,515 m) from the Championship tees. From the Members tees at 6,456 yards (5,903 m), the course rating is 71.8 with a slope rating of 136.
51-663: The Waialae golf course hosts the Sony Open in Hawaii on the PGA Tour in January, the first full-field event of the calendar year. The event has had several corporate sponsors since its founding in 1965 as the Hawaiian Open. Waialae was featured in the video games True Golf Classics: Waialae Country Club , Waialae Country Club: True Golf Classics and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 (as well as
102-770: A Miss Korea beauty pageant. Her paternal grandfather, Sang-Kyu Wie, a resident of Jangheung , Jeollanam-do , was an emeritus professor at Seoul National University . When she was born, Wie was a dual citizen of South Korea (by jus sanguinis ) and the United States (by jus soli ). She renounced her South Korean citizenship in February 2013. Wie graduated from Punahou School in Honolulu in June 2007. On December 19, 2006, she announced that she would be attending Stanford University , where there are family ties. Her paternal grandfather
153-417: A false emergency alert stating that a ballistic missile had been launched toward Hawaii . Staff members reportedly attempted to take shelter in the players' locker room, the media center was ordered to evacuate, and several players posted messages on social media about the erroneous alert, which was sent to all smartphones in the state. The alert was ultimately determined to have been sent in error. Before
204-451: A USGA adult event. Later that summer, she made the cut at the US Women's Open when she was still just 13, the youngest player ever to do so. Wie was given a sponsor's exemption to the 2004 Sony Open in Hawaii, becoming the fourth, and youngest, female to play a PGA Tour event. Her second round score of 68 was the lowest ever by a woman in a PGA Tour event, though she went on to miss the cut in
255-570: A four-month hiatus, due to injuries to both wrists, a disqualification, and several missed cuts and withdrawals. At the LPGA Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika , she was 14 over par through 16 holes in the first round before withdrawing, citing the injury. The withdrawal was controversial owing to the LPGA Rule of 88, which states that a non-LPGA member shooting a score of 88 or more is forced to withdraw and banned from LPGA co-sponsored events for
306-456: A handful of earlier games in the franchise). In the 2000 U.S. census , the U.S. Census Bureau defined the K-8 campus as being in the urban Honolulu census-designated place . For the 2010 U.S. census , the bureau created a new census-designated place, East Honolulu . Wai'alae is a Hawaiian word for spring water of the mud hen, which comes from mud hen (' alae ) and spring water ( wai ). In
357-602: A limited schedule. 2006 also involved several competitions against male competitors, starting with the PGA Tour Sony Open, where she again missed the cut, this time by four strokes. In May she became the first female medalist in a local qualifier for the men's U.S. Open , but did not advance past the New Jersey final stage qualifier. At the PGA John Deere Classic, after a 6-over-par first round, and 10 strokes off
408-577: A three-shot win over a full field at the CN Canadian Women's Open , held at St. Charles Country Club in Winnipeg , Manitoba, for her second career professional victory. In her next LPGA event two weeks later, she finished second in the 54-hole P&G NW Arkansas Championship shooting 201 (−12) and losing to Yani Tseng by one stroke after giving up an overnight three-stroke lead. On April 19, 2014, Wie won her third LPGA Tour event – and her first in
459-565: Is currently organized by Friends of Hawaii Charities. In 1983 , forty-year-old Isao Aoki became Japan 's first winner on the PGA Tour. He holed out a wedge shot for an eagle-3 on the 72nd hole to beat Jack Renner by a stroke. In 1998, John Huston broke the then PGA Tour scoring record to par. He shot 28 under par, beating Ben Hogan 's record originally set in 1945. The Sony Open gained attention for granting four consecutive sponsor invitations ( PGA Tour Exemption #11 ) to Michelle Wie ,
510-642: Is referred to in Wai'alae, is the endemic Gallinula sandvicensis and is a close relative of the coot. Mud hens, moorhens, marsh hens, and swamp hens are closely related. Sony Open in Hawaii The Sony Open in Hawaii is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour , and is part of the tour's FedEx Cup Series . It has been contested at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu , Hawaii , since
561-582: Is the first full-field event of the calendar year, following the Tournament of Champions on Maui . The front and back nines of Waialae are switched for the PGA Tour event, finishing at the dogleg ninth hole. The first lead sponsor was United Airlines in 1991 , succeeded by current sponsor Sony in 1999 . There have been five multiple winners of the tournament, all two-time champions: Hubert Green , Corey Pavin , Lanny Wadkins , Ernie Els , and Jimmy Walker . All have won major championships . The tournament
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#1732858246757612-662: Is the oldest and most prestigious women's amateur tournament in Hawaii. She also advanced into match play at the Women's U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. In 2002, she won the Hawaii State Open Women's Division by thirteen shots. She also became the youngest player to qualify for an LPGA event, the Takefuji Classic held in Wie's home state of Hawaii. While she went on to miss the cut, her record stood for five more years until it
663-580: The Golden State Warriors and the son of NBA legend Jerry West . They married on August 10, 2019, at a private home in Beverly Hills, California . In January 2020, she announced she was pregnant, while expressing interest in eventually returning to competitive golf. On June 19, 2020, she gave birth to a daughter named Makenna. In October 2024, she gave birth to her second child, a son. Wie won several other Hawaiian local and junior events during
714-533: The LPGA Tour . At age 10, she became the youngest player to qualify for a USGA amateur championship. Wie also became the youngest winner of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and the youngest to qualify for an LPGA Tour event. She turned professional shortly before her 16th birthday in 2005, accompanied by an enormous amount of publicity and endorsements. She won the Laureus World Breakthrough of
765-570: The 1830s and 1840s, the location of the artesian spring for the spring water (or wai ) in Wai'alae was a closely guarded secret known only by an elderly couple. King Kamehameha III drank from this spring while visiting. During the twentieth century, the location of the spring became unknown. The wetlands in the Hawaiian Islands are a winter habitat for the American coot which is also known as "mud hen". The Hawaiian mud hen (or ' alae ), which
816-422: The 2008 qualifying tournament. Early in her career, Wie employed many different caddies after her father stopped being her caddie in 2004. She created controversy when, after finishing tied for 26th at the 2006 British Open, her caddie Greg Johnston was fired over the phone by Wie's then-agent Ross Berlin. Johnston said he was "surprised and disappointed" at the firing and at the fact that "no one named Wie gave me
867-524: The 2010 season. Woolley and Wie parted ways in December 2012 after Wie finishing 64th on the LPGA Money List and earning just $ 158,546 that season. In January 2013, Wie employed Mark Wallington, who caddied for another LPGA professional and European Solheim Cup player, Sophie Gustafson, for three tournaments. Wie then began working with Duncan French, who has continued caddying for her exclusively since. In
918-478: The John Deere Classic. It was her third outing at a PGA Tour event; she missed the cut by two strokes. She entered qualifying for the U.S. Amateur Public Links and became the first female golfer to qualify for a USGA national men's tournament, tying for first place in a 36-hole qualifier for the U.S. Amateur Public Links . Wie made the top 64 in the stroke play rounds to qualify for match play. She lost in
969-526: The LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship , finishing fourth. As part of the victorious U.S. team, she became the youngest woman ever to play in the Curtis Cup tournament. Wie started her 2005 season by accepting another sponsor's invitation to play on the PGA Tour at the Sony Open in Hawaii , where she again missed the cut. She played five more LPGA Tour events that year as well as a PGA Tour event,
1020-612: The LPGA Tour in 2009, when she tied for 7th place at the LPGA qualifying tournament in Daytona Beach. After passing LPGA Qualifying School in December 2008, Wie declared that she still planned to play in tournaments against men. However, for the second consecutive year, she did not receive a sponsor exemption to play in the Sony Open in Hawaii where she had played four years in a row from 2004 through 2007. Her first tournament as an LPGA member
1071-552: The LPGA money list and Rolex women's world golf rankings, posting a score of thirteen under par 275 for a two-stroke margin over fellow American Paula Creamer , and beating Jiyai Shin , Cristie Kerr and Morgan Pressel by two strokes. She then finished second in the Ladies European Tour season-ending Dubai Ladies Masters tournament on December 9–12, 2009, shooting a 15-under-par 273, which put her three shots behind winner In-Kyung Kim . On August 29, 2010, she posted
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#17328582467571122-546: The PGA Tour. After she missed the cut at the 2007 Sony Open by 14 shots, many sports critics began to doubt whether she ever would. Wie's last appearance in a men's professional event was at the 2008 Legends Reno-Tahoe Open , an alternate event on the PGA Tour. Wie shot rounds of 73 and 80, missing the cut by nine strokes. Professional golfers, fans, and media critics remarked that allowing Wie to compete in PGA events took away opportunities from more deserving golfers. By late 2007,
1173-505: The United States – the LPGA Lotte Championship . She was four strokes behind Angela Stanford after 54 holes but shot a 67 to Stanford's 73 to win by two strokes. On June 22, 2014, Wie won her fourth LPGA Tour event and first major championship , the U.S. Women's Open . She was tied for the lead with Amy Yang after 54 holes at two-under-par. She double-bogeyed the 16th hole to fall within one shot of Stacy Lewis , but birdied
1224-547: The Year in 2004 and her first and only major at the 2014 U.S. Women's Open . Wie was born on October 11, 1989, in Honolulu , Hawaii . She is the only child of immigrant parents from South Korea who came to the United States in the 1980s. Her father, Byung-wook Wie, is a former professor of travel industry management at the University of Hawaii . Her mother, Bo, was South Korea's women's amateur golf champion in 1985, and competed in
1275-621: The ball closer to the hole than its original lie. Wie would later go on to tally four top-5 finishes on the LPGA tour, including a second at the Evian Masters , a tie for third at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, and a tie for 5th at the LPGA Championship . In the initial Rolex World Golf Rankings in February 2006, Wie was placed third, behind Annika Sörenstam and Paula Creamer , but eventually dropped to 7th, partially due to
1326-411: The criticism over the use of exemptions had extended to Wie's participation in women's events on the LPGA Tour as well. Wie declined to enter LPGA Tour qualifying school after turning 18 and therefore would have to depend on sponsor exemptions to play in future LPGA tournaments. This decision drew criticism from golf fans and commentators. Such criticism ended after Wie qualified for the LPGA Tour through
1377-559: The event's modern-day inception as the Hawaiian Open in November 1965 . In addition to the usual PGA Tour eligibility criteria, the Sony Open may invite up to three professional golfers from emerging markets. Originally a mid-autumn event for its first five editions, it was skipped in 1970 as it moved to its winter slot in early February 1971 . Currently, it is held in mid-January and
1428-436: The final round, Golf Channel cameramen also staged a walkout. Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records. Five men have won this tournament more than once through 2023. 21°16′19″N 157°46′30″W / 21.272°N 157.775°W / 21.272; -157.775 Michelle Wie Michelle Sung Wie West ( / ˈ w iː / ; born October 11, 1989) is an American professional golfer who plays on
1479-420: The first in 2004 when she was age 14. She missed the cut in all four appearances, and did not receive one of the four available sponsor exemptions in 2008. One of the invitations went to Alex Ching, a 17-year-old former high school classmate of Wie. In 2007, amateur Tadd Fujikawa become the second youngest player ever (16 years, 4 days) to make a 36-hole cut in an official PGA Tour event. His achievement
1530-483: The first week of February 2007, it was reported that Wie hurt her left wrist in a fall while running. However, little information was provided to the public due to concerns about her privacy. Initially, her public relations staff reported that she would be away from golf for four to six weeks but the injury lasted until the end of May. In response to the lack of information and prolonged absence, Brittany Lincicome questioned whether Wie and her parents had fabricated
1581-468: The game following the 2022 U.S. Women's Open , held at Pebble Beach Golf Links on July 6–9. From the beginning of her public career, Michelle Wie was the subject of controversy expressed by fans, media, peers, and other observers. Despite the publicity her appearances garnered, Wie made only one cut in a men's tournament: at the rain-shortened 2006 SK Telecom Open on the Asian Tour. She made no cuts on
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1632-460: The half-way cut WD = withdrew NT = no tournament T = tied * Includes matchplay and other events without a cut. ^ Wie's $ 6,760 earnings at the 2013 Honda LPGA Thailand and $ 65,589 at the 2017 HSBC Women's Champions were considered unofficial under LPGA rules and are not included in yearly totals. † Does not include non-member earnings from 2006 to 2008 Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at
1683-642: The injury in order to give her a reason to take a break from golf. At the Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika in May 2007, Wie's playing partner, Alena Sharp, questioned Wie's withdrawal from the tournament due to wrist injury. However, Wie's other playing partner, Janice Moodie, stated that she heard Wie say "Ouch!" after hitting her tee shot, and confirmed "She didn't swing as hard from that point on." In April 2008, she announced that she had three broken bones in her wrist, despite her agent's March 2007 announcement that
1734-540: The news." Wie employed several other professional caddies after Johnston, and also returned to using her father for the remainder of the 2007 season, parting ways with caddie David Clarke after she missed the cut at that year's British Open. For much of 2009, Wie used on-loan caddie Patrick Tarrant, who worked for then-injured PGA pro Brett Wetterich ; however, at the end of that year but prior to her first LPGA victory, Tarrant recommended that she work with his friend Brendan Woolley, who continued as her exclusive caddie through
1785-533: The next hole and parred the last hole for a final round par-70 to win by two strokes over Lewis. The win, coupled with her second-place finish in the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship , resulted in her winning the inaugural Rolex Annika Major Award . In 2014, she was also named one of ESPNW's Impact 25. Wie will contribute to CBS Sports' multimedia golf coverage, including the Masters starting in 2020. In May 2022, Wie West announced that she would be stepping away from
1836-650: The projected cut, midway through round two, she withdrew from the tournament, citing heat exhaustion and tiredness. Wie also played on both the European and Asian tours. At the SK Telecom Open , a men's tournament in South Korea, she became the second woman (after Se Ri Pak ) to make the cut on the Asian Tour , and in addition, reportedly received appearance fees exceeding the event's total prize money. However, Wie finished
1887-580: The quarterfinals to eventual champion Clay Ogden. On October 5, 2005, a week before her 16th birthday, Wie announced that she was turning professional. She signed sponsorship contracts with Nike and Sony reportedly worth more than $ 10 million per year. When Wie turned professional, she was not a member of any professional tour. LPGA Tour membership age requirements require a golfer to be 18, although some players such as Morgan Pressel and Aree Song have successfully petitioned for an exemption to join at age 17. Wie chose not to request an exemption and
1938-462: The rest of the year to play professional golf. Wie completed her studies at Stanford in March 2012 with a major in communications. She participated in the university's graduation ceremony in June 2012. Wie began playing golf at the age of four. In 2000, at the age of ten, she became the youngest player ever to qualify for the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship. Eight years later, Wie's mark
1989-499: The rest of the year. Later that year, after finishing one stroke off the lead during the second round of the State Farm Classic, she was disqualified for walking outside of the official tournament area before returning to sign her scorecard. Despite the lack of victories, Wie was ranked #4 in the 2007 Forbes Top 20 Earners Under 25, with an annual earnings of $ 19 million. Wie finally became eligible to play full-time on
2040-569: The season with several disappointing performances in both male and female tournaments, including the Omega European Masters, PGA 84 Lumber Classic, LPGA Tour Samsung World Championship and the Casio World Open. At this point, Wie had played 14 consecutive rounds of tournament golf without breaking par and had missed the cut in 11 out of 12 tries against men and remained winless against the women. In 2007, Wie's slump continued, including
2091-588: The second major of the year, the LPGA Championship, she finished tied for 23rd, her best finish in a major since 2006. During this tournament she also scored her first recorded hole-in-one as a professional. However, the day after her final round of the LPGA Championship, she failed to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open due to a mediocre performance at a sectional qualifying tournament. In August, at Rich Harvest Farms golf course in Sugar Grove, Illinois , Wie
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2142-416: The tournament. While missing the cut by 1 stroke she bettered the 36 hole score of 47 men including 4 major winners and matched the scores of 15 more men including 3 more major winners. At age 16, 2 years later she shot another round of 68 in the men's tour Sony open and bettered the 36 hole score of 18 men including 2 major winners and matched the score of 9 others including 1 major winner. She again played in
2193-429: The wrist was not broken. A 2009 article about Wie's injury stated that the original misinformation resulted from Wie and her family failing to "understand or accept the severity of the injury," and that during the entire 2007 season, Wie played under a great deal of pain, taking four to five pain killers a day. In March 2019, Wie announced that she was engaged to Jonnie West, who is Director of Basketball Operations for
2244-410: The years 2000 through 2002. Wie played her first professional event while still an amateur in February 2002. Prior to her first win in a professional tournament, on November 15, 2009, she played in a total of 80 professional events as either an amateur or a professional: Results not in chronological order. ^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013. LA = Low amateur CUT = missed
2295-637: Was a captain's pick for the United States team in Solheim Cup competition, where she led the American squad to victory with a 3-0-1 performance, the best record on the American team. On November 15, 2009, Wie won her first professional individual tournament, the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico, an event on the LPGA Tour limited to the top 36 female golfers in the world as determined by
2346-464: Was a visiting professor, and an aunt and uncle are both graduates. She enrolled in September 2007 as a freshman, but as a professional golfer, Wie was not eligible under NCAA rules to play for Stanford's golf team . During her first three years at Stanford, she attended only during the fall and winter quarters, running from late September through mid-March each year. She took leaves of absence during
2397-435: Was broken in 2007 by 11-year-old Ariya Jutanugarn. At the 2003 Kraft Nabisco Championship , Wie became the youngest player to make an LPGA cut. She carded a 66 in the third round, tying the amateur record for a women's major championship and qualifying her to play in the final group of the championship. In June 2003, Wie won the Women's Amateur Public Links tournament, becoming the youngest person ever, male or female, to win
2448-468: Was highlighted by a 15-foot (4.6 m) eagle putt on his 36th hole, Waialae's 551-yard par-5 18th. Incidentally, the PGA Tour's 2006 media guide shows that the youngest player ever to make a 36-hole cut in an official Tour event was Bob Panasik (15 years, 8 months, and 20 days) in 1957 at the Canadian Open , 3½ months younger than Fujikawa. Preparations for the 2018 Sony Open were briefly disrupted by
2499-569: Was surpassed by fellow Hawaiian Allisen Corpuz, who qualified when she was five months younger than Wie had been when she set the record. Wie remained the youngest player to advance to match play in this tournament, until 2014 when Lucy Li surpassed her by one week. In 2001, at the age of 11, she won both the Hawaii State Women's Stroke Play Championship and the Jennie ;K. Wilson Women's Invitational. The Jennie K. Wilson Women's Invitations
2550-602: Was the season-opening SBS Open at Turtle Bay where she shot 66, 70 to move into a tie with Angela Stanford going into the final round of the tournament. Wie held a three-stroke lead with eight holes remaining, but ended up losing to Stanford by three strokes. It was reported in early March, 2009, that Wie had left the William Morris Agency , the Hollywood talent agency that had represented her since she turned pro in 2005, and would be signing with sports agency IMG . At
2601-423: Was thus only allowed to participate in a limited number of LPGA Tour events when given a sponsor's exemption from 2005 until 2008. Wie played her first professional event in the 2005 LPGA Samsung World Championship, where she was disqualified from a fourth-place finish for signing an incorrect scorecard. A journalist, Michael Bamberger , reported a day after Wie had completed her round that she had illegally dropped
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