Michelle Wie may have come up short in her pursuit of the Women’s British Open title, but the popular 27-year-old realized a season-long quest to make the U.S. Solheim Cup with a stellar 6-under 66 in Sunday’s final round at Kingsbarns Golf Links.
Michelle Wie secured Solheim Cup spot with strong finish at Women’s British Open
Wie played her way from last in the standings to an automatic berth on the U.S. Solheim Cup team.
Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images
Wie finished in a three-way tie for third at 13-under for the week, five shots back of Open winner In-Kyung Kim. She and Brittany Lang were the final two automatic qualifiers on captain Juli Inkster’s 12-player squad.
Brittany Lincicome (T39 at Kingsbarns) and Lizette Salas (T14) also punched their tickets to Des Moines on Sunday, joining Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis, Gerina Piller, Cristie Kerr, Jessica Korda, and Cup rookie Danielle Kang as automatic qualifiers. In something of a surprise, Inkster, Cup captain for the second straight time, went for youth over experience with her two wild card choices. She tapped LPGA Tour rookie Angel Yin, 18, and 25-year-old Austin Ernst — with just one tour win between them — over veterans Paula Creamer, Angela Stanford, and Morgan Pressel, who have participated in 17 Solheim Cups among them over the years.
It was quite the accomplishment for Wie, who began the season last in Solheim Cup points and made it her mission to qualify for the biennial matches that run from Aug. 18-20 at Des Moines Golf and Country Club in Iowa.
”It’s always been a dream come true for me … to represent my country,” Wie told reporters after starting Sunday’s finale 10 strokes off the lead, thanks largely to a second-round 76, and posting her best finish in a major since winning the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open. “I just made my goal to make it on the team and I’m just so proud that I did. You know, I’m just really proud that I can represent my country.”
Wie began the week by setting the women’s course record with a 64.
She followed that up with a disappointing lone birdie surrounded by three bogeys and a double on Friday, but bounced back impressively over the weekend (69-66).
Her Sunday performance included six birdies on her front nine — including four in a row on holes four through seven.
Even more dramatic has been the way Wie rebounded this season from a terrible couple of years in which she earned just one top-10 finish and struggled with injuries throughout 2016. Despite withdrawing from the U.S. Women’s Open with neck pain, 2017 has been a year of resurgence for the Stanford grad. She has battled her way back to seven top 10s that include a sixth-place outcome at the ANA Inspiration and a T2 at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
Des Moines will mark the fifth consecutive Solheim Cup appearance for Wie, whose enthusiasm and effervescence helped the U.S. defeat Europe in her Solheim debut in 2009 and won her a slew of new fans.
“This is the most fun I’ve ever had playing golf. It was just unbelievable, the crowds, the cheers, the pressure, everything about it,” Wie told reporters at the time. “It was nothing like I’ve ever experienced before … I’m still shaking from the round it was just so much fun.”
Wie also acknowledged how significant it was to compete for Team USA.
“It’s a completely different feeling because I’m not only playing for myself, I’m playing for my team, I’m playing for my team members and I’m playing for my country,” Wie said. “I play well because I want to play well, and I do it for my own — because I want to do it for myself, basically.
“But you know, this week I do it for my country,” she said. “I do it for us. I do it for pride, and I don’t think it’s comparable at all.”
Wie’s joy at making the team has never waned.
“Solheim Cup means the world to me,” she said after Meg Mallon made her a controversial captain’s pick in 2013 — an honor that moved her to such tears that her contact lenses popped out. “When I walk up on that first tee ... I’m representing my country, I’m representing my girls on my team, I’m representing playing for my captains, my co‑captains and everything it means to be American.”
Wie will take a 7-7-1 record into this year’s tourney.
