Michelle Wie Blog

Despite playing 36 holes on a humid day, Michelle Wie was still able to flash a big smile as she sat down with the media.

Qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open will do that.

Playing on two different courses, Wie carded rounds of 70 and 67 and her 137 total was the second best score on the day and more than enough to qualify her for the 2008 Open, to be played later this month at the Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn.

“I think I did pretty well. It feels good to be playing good again,” said Wie, who has struggled with her game for much of the last year. “There were a lot of shots that I left out there today with the putting and a couple of errant tee shots in the middle, but other than that I’m pretty pleased with my round and I’m really happy to be playing at the U.S. Open.”

Wie’s first 18, played at Woodmont Country Club, was an up and down one with five birdies and four bogeys. After starting out with birdies on her second and third holes, some wayward drives left her at 2-over with five holes to play, but she birdied three of the last four holes.

“I felt like in the middle of the round, my round could have gone anywhere,” said Wie. It could have gone to the bad direction, but fortunately I pulled it back together and made a couple of good shots, good putts, and I felt like I saved a lot of really great pars.”

The venue shifted a few miles away to Manor Country Club, but Wie continued to show improvement with her irons that helped lead to another strong close.

Finishing on the front nine, Wie pushed her tee shot on number seven into the trees and after chipping back into the fairway, she smoked an iron from 160 yards to within five feet, which she tapped in for par. That was followed up by a strong iron shot off the tee on a 157 yard Par-3 which she left 20 inches from the cup for a birdie. For her final act, Wie smacked an approach shot on a par-5 to within five feet for another birdie as she snagged one of the 35 spots open to the 121 players at sectional.

Wie, who was one shot behind Kelli Kuehne’s 136, is regaining her confidence. She finished in sixth place at the Ladies German Open last week.

“When you are struggling week after week, it takes a toll on your confidence,” said Wie. “Nobody really gave up on me. My managers, David (Leadbetter, her coach), my parents, my trainer, everyone, they never gave up on me. They are always telling me you are going to get through it and you are going to get better.”

Wie does not anticipate going to the U.S. Open site prior to the tournament and will return to Florida where she and Leadbetter have been working hard on her game, spending 9-12 hours a day practising. Asked if she took time to watch last week’s LPGA event, Wie said the bit of television she watched was spent watching a different sporting event.

“Actually I was kind of busy watching the NBA playoffs,” said Wie. “I’m a big fan of Kevin Garnett.”

There are three elements of proper alignment in the game of golf:

*Aligning the body, the ideal body alignment aims all of your body, feet, knees, hips, forearms and shoulders parallel to the target line.

*Aligning the ball, if the ball is aligned to far forward, it can cause you to hit it while the putter is swinging up, causing the ball to leave the green.

*Aligning the putter face - according to some professionals if your putter alignment is off by 10 degrees, and your putt is 20 feet, you will miss the hole by 3 feet. That sounds like aligning the putter is pretty important!

Contact should be made with the ball at the bottom of the stroke for putting, at the point where the putter head is horizontal to the ground. In the ideal stance this is directly beneath the center of your stance. The center of your stance should be directly below your breastbone.

To determine your low point, try some practice swings, the point where the putter brushes the grass is your low point. It may be further back if you put more weight on your back foot or further forward if you lean towards your target. Your ball should be placed slightly in front of your low point, this is necessary because each persons low point is different.

The direction your putt is off may be caused due to the fact that your ball is positioned improperly to your low point. If you continue to push puts right, try moving your ball slightly forward. If you pull your puts to the left, try moving your ball back slightly in your stance.

Placing the ball to far forward is the most common mistake golfers make. This makes it easier for them to see their shot, but gives the shot less power than it should have.

alignment, golf, golf clubs, playing golf, putting

Source: playing golf

Here is some good video taken by a bystander at the German Open recently. Some nice shots of Michelle on the tee, fairway and the green too. Her swing looks good, especially in slow motion. The skirt is not too bad either….