2007 Sony Open in Hawaii With Attention on Wie, Others Focus on Sony Victory By TheGolfChannel.com Team - January 08, 2007 2006 Sony OpenShe’s back. Back to try yet again to make the cut in a PGA TOUR event. Six times Michelle Wie has played a TOUR event. Six times she has failed to make it past the first two rounds. On one occasion she only made it through 18 holes as she was forced to withdraw mid-round at last year’s John Deere Classic due to exhaustion. Michelle Wie Michelle Wie will have another large following this week at home. Wie’s foray into men’s events on the professional level began in 2004 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. The then 14-year-old Wie wowed the golfing public by shooting 72-68, missing the cut by just one swing. Three years later, the promise and potential remain. But Wie hasn’t since come as close to qualifying for weekend play on TOUR. Wie made three TOUR starts a year ago. She shot another 68 in the second round at the Sony – but that came after an opening 79. She then had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital midway through the second round of the John Deere, where she was well below the cut line at the time of her withdrawal. And things didn’t get much better at the 84 Lumber. She managed to finish 36 holes this time, but did so in 158 strokes. Once again, the high school senior will garner a great deal of attention this week. But while she has shown flashes of brilliance at Waialae Country Club, a course she has played countless times, she most likely won’t factor into the final outcome – even if she does make the cut. This is the first full-field event on the 2007 TOUR season, the first chance for most of the players to earn FedExCup points. Some, however, already have a jump on everyone else. Thirty-two of the 34 players in last week’s Mercedes-Benz Championship field are hopping over to Honolulu from Maui. On the other hand, there were 39 players on the original commitment list who were either Nationwide Tour or Q-school graduates. With the new FedExCup system in place, both sets aren’t sure how many times they will get to compete this year – particularly on the Q-school side early on. While 20 of the 22 Nationwide grads were on the original field list; only 19 of the 40 players who made it through the Qualifying Tournament were on there. Two of those players opted not to compete this week, but the other 19 didn’t make the original 144-person field. With limited opportunities, it will be important for these players to play well when given the chance.