Wie Qualifies for Match Play

Michelle Wie shot a two-over-par 72 in the final round of stroke play at the U.S. Amateur Public Links at Lebanon, Ohio, on Tuesday, good enough to secure a spot in the match-play portion of the championship.

“Match play is a lot more intense,� she said after completing the 36 holes of medal play in eight-over 148.

Wie, 15, is playing in the men’s Public Links because the winner is traditionally invited to play at the Masters.

The top 64 in stroke play moved on to match play, which culminates with a 36-hole final Saturday.

Wie’s score was above the cut line when she finished, but scores went up in the afternoon and she ended up tied for 49th.

She will play Will Claxton, 23, a quarterfinalist a year ago, in her first-round match this morning.

“I’ve obviously seen her play on TV,� Claxton said. “I’m just going to try to treat her like any other player and things will take care of themselves. I won’t be ashamed to lose to her, and I’m not afraid to play her.�

Wie’s playing partner, Ed McDugle, who struggled to an 80 for a 158 to miss match play, said there was a simple solution for those who don’t want Wie to play golf with the men.

“She teed it up with the men and if the men don’t like it they should have beat her,� he said.

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Angela Park, a 16-year-old from Torrance, and Mari Chun, a 17-year-old from Hawaii, finished with six-under 136s and were co-medalists after stroke play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links at Kansas City, Mo.

Park had a 70 in the morning at Swope Memorial Golf Course and then Chun had a 69 in the afternoon to tie her.