By Ken Klavon, USGA

Cherry Hills Village, Colo. – How many 15-year-olds would sound disappointed being two shots off the lead at a U.S. Women’s Open? Then again, Michelle Wie isn’t just any teenager.

The developing golf erudite shot 2-over par 73 in the second round of the championship at Cherry Hills Country Club Friday to trail first-round leader Angela Stanford . Because of Thursday’s suspended play, Wie had to complete her last three holes in the first round before immediately teeing it up again. Stanford had an afternoon tee time, while co-first round leader Brittany Lang posted a 6-over 77 to tumble to 30th.

Michelle Wie acknowledges the gallery after a putt Friday.(John Mummert/USGA)

Other low scores in the clubhouse were Australian Rachel Hetherington’s 2-under 69 to stand at 1-over 143 and France’s Karine Icher’s 2-over 144.

Wie’s 2-under 69 first round score had put her into a tie for the lead. But missed opportunities, and a firmed-up 6,749-yard, par-71 layout despite Thursday evening rain showers, left a conservative Wie determined to shoot under par on the weekend.

"My goal was to shoot consistent under-par rounds all four days," she said. "Didn’t really quite achieve that, so I will just make it up tomorrow."

Tight fairways, punishing rough and unforgiving hole locations forced the normally-aggressive Wie into scale-back mode. She used driver just twice in the second round, on holes 10 and 11, preferring accuracy off the tee with woods or irons. She’s averaged just 246 yards on her drives through both rounds. Eleven fairways in regulation assisted in registering 14 pars.

After a bogey on her first hole she strung together nine consecutive pars, taking what the William S. Flynn design would offer.

The penal rough on her 11^th hole, the par-4 second, contributed to her second of three bogeys. Wie could only chip onto the fairway before eventually two-putting from 14 feet left of flagstick. A 10-footer on No. 7 led to a key par save that kept her even – until No. 8, the longest par 3 at 206 yards.

Fellow competitor Brittany Lincicome, 6-over 148 through both rounds, hit 5-iron off the tee and came up short. Without taking a cue, Wie opted for a 6-iron later saying she had been in-between clubs. The ball stopped 30 feet short of the green. Wie chipped 18 feet past the hole, two-putting.

She got it back on the grueling ninth, which features a crowned fairway and sloping green. It’s the same hole Ralph Guldahl (1938 Open), Arnold Palmer (1960 Open) and Andy North (1978 Open) played in 7 over par. Wie nailed a cut 7-iron approach shot to 2 feet of the flagstick before tapping in for the only birdie of the round.

Karine Icher chips on the fifth hole during her 4-over round. (Sam Greenwood/USGA)

Afterward, fellow competitor Laura Davies (23-over 165) said Wie didn’t play aggressive enough. Wie felt otherwise using patience as her mantra.

"If I lost my head, I could have shot a big number," said Wie.

Even still, she believes she can win the championship.

"Just the way I am playing and you never know – if I never think I am ready then I can never win," she said.

Even though heavy rain pelted the course late Thursday, scores dropped in the morning session. Theoretically speaking, greens that measured 11 on the Stimpmeter through the first round should slow down, allowing the field to perhaps score a little better.

Not so said some of the early finishers, Lincicome and Wie among them.

"It was playing really hard if you hit the rough," said Lincicome.

"I thought the greens would be playing pretty slow, but they were playing pretty fast," said Wie.

Added amateur Nicole Hage after a 16-over 158 two-day finish: "It’s speed, it’s speed of the greens. …They are getting harder."

Hetherington, making her eighth Open appearance, added that the course was playing tricks on the decision-making process. For her, most of the time she made the right one, evidenced by seven birdies via 27 putts.

She began ominously with a bogey, then went birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey until ending her front nine with two more birdies.

"Any day you make seven birdies, you’re putting well," said Hetherington, who posted a 10^th-place finish last year.

Defending champ Meg Mallon (even-par 71) and two-time winner Annika Sorenstam (even par) also started in the afternoon.

Ken Klavon is the Web Editor for the USGA. E-mail him with comments or questions at kklavon@usga.org.