As much as Michelle Wie wants to see "Fantastic Four," she'd rather have waited a few days. The 15-year-old has plenty of time to kill at the movies this weekend, stumbling in her last four holes and blowing her chance to become the first female in 60 years to make a cut on the PGA Tour. Wie missed the cut at the John Deere Classic by two strokes Friday, shooting an even-par 71 that put her at 1 under for the tournament.
"I think I'm going to hit the movie theater," the teenager said when asked what she'll do with the unwanted free time.
Wie was trying to become the first woman since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945 to make a PGA Tour cut, and she was on track to do it after making the turn at 4 under. But she stumbled in stunning fashion, dropping three strokes on Nos. 6 and 7, and then missing a last-chance birdie putt on No. 8.
As she walked off No. 9, her final hole, disappointment was etched across her face.
She tied for 88th, matching three-time major winner Nick Price and finishing ahead of David Duval. But it was little consolation.
J.L. Lewis, the 1999 winner, followed his opening 64 with a 65 to take the lead at 13-under 129. Shigeki Maruyama (63) and Hunter Mahan (68) were second at 11 under.
"It was pretty killer," the teenager from Hawaii said. "Even though I finished below par, it still feels (bad) because I played so well the first nine and then I just totally messed up the back nine."
She now goes to the men's U.S. Amateur Public Links next week at Shaker Run in Lebanon, Ohio. The winner has traditionally gotten a spot in the Masters.
Wie had played beyond her years all week, hitting it straight and showing a better-than-expected touch around the greens. But all of that disappeared at the most inopportune time.
She went bunker to bunker with her first two shots on No. 6, then three-putted from 20 feet for her first double bogey of the week.
"I guess I was too aggressive with my putt," she said. "I hadn't made a bogey, and I didn't want to. It felt like a straightforward putt. If I'd hit it a little softer, it would have gone in."
The double bogey dropped her to 2 under, with more trouble to come.
She pushed her tee shot on No. 7 so far right it bounced on the cart path, and she had to take a drop. She got on the green from 35 yards out, but two-putted for another bogey, all but ending her chances to play two more rounds.
When her 14-foot birdie putt on No. 8 skirted the edge of the cup, the teenager from Hawaii sank to her knees.
"It was a great experience," said her father, B.J. Wie. "Obviously we're disappointed. Michelle's disappointed. But it was a great experience and she's got to experience all things in golf."
A 1-under 70 in the first round put Wie a stroke over the projected cut, and she came out Friday looking determined to make up ground. She was even sporting a turquoise belt with a sparkly black "68" on the buckle, the number she wanted to shoot.
"I got it in France," she said. "I thought it was a really cool number."
She got off to a quick start, delighting fans with birdies on two of her first three holes. Though Wie is still three months shy of her 16th birthday, she's got all the makings of sports' next international icon.
There was a Sunday-sized crowd waiting for her on the 10th tee Friday, with fans of all ages. She attracted people who knew golf as well as those who couldn't tell a birdie from a bald eagle, and they followed her the entire afternoon.
When she capped her fine first nine with a tap-in birdie on the par-4, 463-yard 18th hole, she got a standing ovation from fans around the green.
"I was hoping to shoot a lower score and get on the leaderboard," she said. "But none of my putts went in on the back nine."
So instead of making history, she was looking for the movie section.
"On the LPGA Tour, I made the cut on my fourth try," she said. "My fourth try (on the PGA Tour) is coming up, so I'm really looking forward to that."
As much as Michelle Wie wants to see "Fantastic Four," she'd rather have waited a few days. The 15-year-old has plenty of time to kill at the movies this weekend, stumbling in her last four holes and blowing her chance to become the first female in 60 years to make a cut on the PGA Tour. Wie missed the cut at the John Deere Classic by two strokes Friday, shooting an even-par 71 that put her at 1 under for the tournament.