A few hundred onlookers stood next to Bighorn Golf Club’s first hole, including Wie’s mother, Bo; father, B. J.; and various executives from Nike, including its founder, Phil Knight.
"I’m O.K.," said B. J., denying any nerves before his daughter’s first round as a professional. "I’m just trying to stay cool."
The 16-year-old Wie struck her first tee shot with a 3-wood down the middle and carded a two-under-par 70 in her first round as a professional to stand six strokes back of Annika Sorenstam, who shot an eight-under-par 64, at the Samsung World Championship.
"I wasn’t really that nervous when I put my ball on the tee, but then my heart was thumping," Wie said. "It was a little bit different today. It was fun getting those butterflies in your stomach."
Wie, dressed in a black cap, orange shirt and pink tartan shorts, said the most memorable moment of the day was finding her ball sitting in the first fairway. It meant that she was safely off the first tee and into the beginning of a career that stands to be one of the most watched in golf.
She turned 16 on Tuesday and, last week, signed endorsement deals with Nike and Sony estimated to be worth $10 million.
On the same day that Wie made her professional debut here, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club announced that it was changing its entry rules to allow women to qualify for the British Open beginning in 2006.
Sorenstam and Wie have competed against men — Sorenstam at the 2003 Colonial and Wie from smaller tournaments in Hawaii all the way to the PGA Tour’s Sony Open and John Deere Classic. Might they try to qualify for the British Open?
"I’d like to try it," Wie said. "I get really excited when I play against the men. It’s a whole different experience for me. Hopefully, I will be able to play more men’s events in the coming years."
Sorenstam, who has often said Colonial was a one-time challenge, said it would take a special woman to qualify for the British Open.
"You have to hit it a long way, be able to spin the ball," Sorenstam, 35, said. "It will take an extraordinary woman, an extraordinary athlete. Maybe down the road there will be someone like Michelle who wants to go."
Wie can already carry her drives 260 yards and spin her wedge shots on the green. Playing with the veteran Cristie Kerr, who opened with a 65, one group in front of Sorenstam, the defending champion, Wie made four birdies in her first 12 holes Thursday before closing with bogeys on No. 14 and No. 18, occasionally fighting her driver despite Bighorn’s generous fairways.
