Michelle Wie readies for Match Play, while Mickelson reemerges and the Shark sinks

Michelle Wie probably has her best chance ever this week to post a victory in an LPGA event. The course would seem to play to her extra length and her inproved putting should be especially important in match play. Her all around game seems to have come apace. She is seeded second in the event, but first in her bracket which seems slightly inferior to the other bracket. I could only find one internet gambling site with odds quoted on the Women's match play. Annika was 4 to 1 and Wie was 11 to 2. Of course, anything can happen in match play and probably will happen, but MW will be a big disappoinment if she doesn't make the final eight.

If we consider there to be 4 brackets, each bracket has one of the four 2006 Major winners or 2006 Double winners: Annika, Karrie Webb, Se Ri Pak, Lorena Ochoa. Michelle Wie could play Se Ri Pak in the 3rd round. Since Se Ri won the next to last Major and then finished T3 along with Wie at the Open, I would rank her anong the 4 toughest players Wie might have to face this week. It will be a disappointment if Wie does not win--but it would hardly be an embarassment if Se Ri Pak were to outplay her for one round and keep her out of the final eight.

Agree with Jim. Watch for the match with Seri Pak. If she wins that one, the momentum will carry her all the way...
For Annika, she might have some fatigue from US open. I would bet she falters along the way and not make the final.

Jim C, What I glean from the last sentence of your post is this: You will be disappointed if MW does not win the HBSC Match Play, BUT she should not be embarrassed if she doesn't make the final eight. Isn't that sort of a contradiction? There are only two brackets and Michelle is seeded number one in one of them. She is second in one betting line to Annika to win the tournament. If form were to hold true, she should make the final and lose to Annika in the ultimate match. As I previously stated, anything can happen and no doubt will happen. Still, with her game having rounded into shape and with more than adequate practice on the course, MW SHOULD make at least the final eight or be very disappointed.

As a Michelle Wie fan I am disappointed when she does not win--and I am sure she is disappointed as well. But Se Ri Pak is playing far better than her number 15 seed in recent weeks. She had one of the most dominating openning round wins at 5 and 4. It certainly would be a tough match for both competitors if they both win the 2nd round.

Jim C, If the first sentence of your post is true, you must be one disappointed guy.:-)

There are Cub fans in Chicago who are disappointed whenever the Cubs don't win the World Series. That is 98 years and counting.

A curiosity. Se Ri Pak trails Mi Hyun Kim by less than 0.009 points in the Rolex Rankings. I believe if Michelle Wie had missed her final putt in the Open the improvement in Se Ri Pak's position from 3 way to 2 way tie for third would have been enough to move her ahead of Kim into 14th place--which would have meant a potential 3rd round match between Pak andj Ochoa instead of Pak and Wie. So Wie has only herself to blame for the fact that she may have to face Pak in the 3rd round.