Wie eager to only look forward

For Michelle Wie the start of the Women’s British Open at St Andrews tomorrow is less about being part of history and more about trying to forget the recent past.

The tournament marks the first time that women professionals have played an event at the ancient Home of Golf – and even the male-only Royal and Ancient Club have opened their doors to allow Annika Sorenstam and the rest to use the facilities.

But it is what happens on the famous Old Course that will for Wie determine whether it is a week to remember or yet another wretched one.

She said: “I don’t want to look back any more. I just want to look forward.”

Amazingly for someone who in June had her earnings for the previous 12 months calculated at more than £9m (€13m) by the Forbes Celebrity Rich List, Wie has not achieved a single round in the sixties for over a year.

And in her five appearances this season – a broken wrist kept her out of action for almost five months – the 17-year-old, who on turning professional signed deals estimated at £5million, is 82 over par.

That figure could have been much higher. She quit after 27 holes of the US Women’s Open when already 17 over and controversially in May pulled out of another event at 14 over after 16 holes when a score of 88 and a ban for the rest of the year was looming.

Having given up, for the time being at least, playing against the men following a run of last or nearly last places, Wie has not found competing against her own sex much easier.

On Sunday she only managed to beat two players in the field of 72 at the Evian Masters in France, the promise of her second round 71 (her first sub-par score for a year) ruined by closing rounds of 84 and 76.

After her first practice round at St Andrews, the course where Tiger Woods has already won twice, Wie commented: “The wrist is getting a lot better and this is just a tough stretch that I have to get through.

“I’ve had it pretty easy up until now and this is the first bump, but I’m confident I’ll get through it. My life was going exactly how I planned it – it was on a very fast track and then I hit my first bump.

“I’m feeling a lot stronger and on the road to recovery and I’m feeling a lot more comfortable. My aim this week is to play like Tiger (Woods) and get through the week without going into a bunker.

“If I can go through without having any pain, no stinging, no letting go of the club, I’ll be very happy. But obviously shooting a low score would be really nice too.

“It’s the greatest honour to be here and it’s the most interesting course I’ve ever played. You keep on having to play to different fairways. I’ve been doing that a lot recently – just not on purpose.

“When you’re watching it on TV everything seems like it’s straight in front of you. But it’s just so different when you play it. I never realised that almost every shot on the front nine is a blind tee shot.

“And the greens are very strange and interesting. The ledges, there’s like Mount Everest on the greens basically and you have to putt from like 50 yards.

“It’s just so amazing, breathtaking and it’s quickly become almost one of my favourite golf courses.

“David Leadbetter, my coach, has obviously taught Nick Faldo, who won here, so he obviously knows where to go and he was telling me where to hit the ball.”

The three women’s majors this season have been won by 18-year-old American Morgan Pressel, Norway’s Suzann Petersen and American Christie Kerr, while Sorenstam’s own injury problems have contributed to her falling to third in the world rankings behind Mexican Lorean Ochoa and Australian Karrie Webb.