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Wednesday, 29 March 2006, 20:22 GMT 21:22 UK

Wie rules out bid to play at Open

Michelle Wie Teenage golf starlet Michelle Wie will not attempt to qualify for this year's Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

It had been reported that Wie and world number one Annika Sorenstam may take advantage of last year's rule change to allow women into golf's oldest major.

But both players have accepted invites to play in the Women's World Match Play Championship in New Jersey in July.

Wie will, however, make a fifth appearance on the US PGA tour at the John Deere Classic in July.

"I would love to qualify for the Open, but I won't find the time to fit it into my schedule this year," said Wie.

"But I think it's great that (the Open's organisers) have changed the rules, and I definitely would love to play in the championship one day."

For the first time in history, women are not barred from the Open, which this year takes place at Royal Liverpool, Hoylake.

Feature: Michelle's millions

The top five finishers in each of the women's four majors are eligible to qualify for the Open. To make it to Hoylake, they would have to go through regional qualifying and then final qualifying on 10-11 July.

Wie, who finished third as an amateur at last year's Women's British Open, had expressed a desire to travel for the regional qualifying.

But she has since committed to the lucrative HSBC match play event at Hamilton Farm in Gladstone, New Jersey, on 6-9 July.


The event starts the day after regional qualifying for the Open at 16 courses around Britain and Ireland.

The date of regional qualifying was moved from 3 July to 5 July because the US Women's Open runs until 2 July.

The 135th Open Championship starts at Hoylake on 20 July.

World number one Tiger Woods is the defending champion following his five-shot win at St Andrew's last year.

Sixteen-year-old Wie was granted a sponsor's exemption to the John Deere Classic on Wednesday.

She was set to make the cut at the same event last year, but a double bogey at the 16th and bogey on the 17th meant she missed a spot by two shots.

The John Deere Classic will be held July 13-16.

No woman has made the cut on the US tour since Babe Zaharias in 1945.




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Related to this story:

Sorenstam ready for young stars (29 Mar 06 |  Golf )
Sorenstam heads debut world list (21 Feb 06 |  Golf )
Wie excited at Open entry chance (14 Oct 05 |  Golf )
Female stars to get Open chance (16 Feb 05 |  Golf )
Woosie backs Open entry for women (13 Oct 05 |  Golf )

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The Open Championship
Royal Liverpool
LPGA Tour
Women's World Match Play
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