By Dave Shedloski

Cherry Hills Village, Colo. – Indecisive on the first tee, ineffective on the greens, teen sensation Michelle Wie unraveled quickly in the 60th U.S. Women’s Open, crashing to an 82 Sunday at Cherry Hills Country Club after holding a share of the lead through 54 holes.

"I got lost out there," said Wie, 15, who wasn’t alone in that sentiment but who has stood alone among the next generation of golfers because of her long-hitting prowess and precocious goals that include competing regularly on the PGA Tour and playing in the Masters Tournament.

It was that kind of day for 15-year-old Michelle Wie as she reacts after missing a short birdie putt on the fifth hole during the fourth round. (John Mummert/USGA)

Drawing the largest galleries on a busy and brutal day, Wie seemed poised for a coronation after her second-place finish two weeks ago at the LPGA Championship. Instead, she found herself fighting off tears, not contenders.

Only one player, Lori Kane, broke par Sunday and four others equaled par-71 as the field averaged 76.097, but Wie’s 82 was the second-highest in the final round among 63 players who made the cut.

"I think she’ll learn a lot from this," said her swing coach, David Leadbetter. "You can have the perfect warm-up session, but when you get on the golf course it becomes a different deal."

Leadbetter said Wie had intended to hit 6-iron off the tee on the short par-4 opening hole, but switched to a 5-iron when the wind shifted. Wie pulled her shot into the left rough, gouged it out into more rough, chipped her next over the green, and then took three more strokes to get down.

The double-bogey set the tone for the day.

"Difficult would be too easy a word," said Wie said. "It was really hard out there for me today."

Bogeys at holes three and four set Wie four shots off the pace, but the crusher came at the par-4 seventh, where Wie struck a wedge to within 2 feet of the hole and then lipped out the birdie attempt. She raised a trembling hand to her mouth and muttered, "Oh, my, gosh."

After that, things only got worse.

"That was the killer, that putt, because we could have got some momentum back," said Wie’s caddie, Jimmy Johnson, a veteran of the PGA Tour ranks. "Everyone was falling back, and at that point we could have got back into it."

The effects of the miscue were obvious. Wie bogeyed the eighth and double-bogeyed the ninth after she could only advance her second shot from the rough 10 yards. Bogeys at 10 and 12 and another double-bogey at 13 put her in free fall.

Her 12-over 296 total dropped her into fourth among amateur finishers after she shared amateur medalist honors last year with Paula Creamer. She ended up tied for 23^rd with seven others, including second-round leader Nicole Perrot and Annika Sorenstam, whose bid for the women’s Grand Slam ended.

After finishing 13th a year ago to earn a berth in this year’s championship, Wie will now have to go back through qualifying to compete in the 61^st U.S. Women’s Open at Newport Country Club in Rhode Island.

"It’s kind of a bummer that I have to qualifying for next year," she said, scrunching up her nose and holding back tears. "It just happens."

She promised to work hard in preparation for her next start, the John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour. She was reminded that a British Open berth goes to the winner.

"That’s definitely on my mind," said Wie. "I played bad here, so, hopefully, I’ll play good there. I am still pretty confident about next week."

Dave Shedloski is a free-lance writer whose work has appeared previously on www.uswomensopen.com.