Good thing this just the tuneup.
Michelle Wie West admitted her first competitive golf round in three years took her to a “very dark” place while shooting a 10-over 82 at the Mizuho Americas Open in West Caldwell, N.J.
“My husband was talking me off a ledge the whole round. Golf can take you places and I went places,” Wie West said with a laugh Thurday.
“Dark, very dark. It got very grim. Hole two. Hole two, hole three, hole five. No, Seven was good. Hole nine — that was dark.”
West announced earlier this year she would be returning after retiring in 2023 and this tourney is allowing her to get the competitive juices flowing again in preparation for her final U.S. Open next month.
Even with an incredible resume that includes five LPGA wins, including the 2014 U.S. Open, the 36-year-old felt butterflies again when she began her round Thursday.
“I wasn’t nervous going in and then I get to the first tee and I’m like holy (s–t), I now spell my curse words because I’m a mom, and I was like, ‘Wow, the hole all of a sudden looks so small,’” shoe joked. “I go out to a two-footer and I was like, ‘I’m not going to hit the hole, there’s no way.”
She added: “I think I was shocked at how nervous I got.”
The first nine went particularly bad for Wie West with three bogeys and two double-bogeys while shooting an 8-over 44, but she found her footing on the back nine with a pair of birdies to shoot a 2-over 38.
She noted that she felt she made four good shots on the 12th hole while making par, which aided her confidence, and then birdied two of the next three holes.
Wie West will have roughly one month between this event and next month’s U.S. Open to be held at Riviera Golf Course in California from June 4-7.
“Honestly, I’m so happy I played today ahead of U.S. Open,” Wie West said. “As much practice as you can do, as many games as you can play, there’s literally nothing in the world that compares to the first round of a tournament. I thought today was a great experience.”