Michelle Wie, 15 years old and playing alongside some of the world's leading male golfers, struggled in tough conditions in the first round of the Sony Open in Honolulu yesterday.
Wie, who hails from the Hawaiian city, was in good company, however. The South African Ernie Els, attempting to become the first player to win the tournament three years in succession, finished the day one over par on 71, and England's Paul Casey and Thomas Levet of France were among 10 players sharing Wie's score of 75.
Four players managed four under at the Waialae Country Club. Brett Quigley, Stewart Cink, Tom Byrum and Hank Kuehne all scored 66 and share the lead.
Vijay Singh, the world No1, also found conditions difficult. He bogeyed the 1st but redeemed himself with an eagle at the 9th and finished one-under on 69.
"An under-par score will be good for today," said Singh afterwards. "The whole course was tough with these winds. It's very hard to keep the ball in play. The winds are causing havoc out there.
"It was hard hitting every shot - all the drives and approach shots were difficult," Singh said. "It's tough for the boys over here, you know? Going to be tough for a girl here, too."
Wie can vouch for that. "A couple of holes weren't very much fun," she said. "A couple of holes were super hard. I hit some really good shots but they just didn't turn out right. I tried to hit low under the wind but sometimes it's tough."
Wie, attempting to become the first female to make the cut at a PGA Tour event since Babe Zaharias in 1945, had most trouble on the outward nine, scoring a double bogey, two bogeys and only one birdie.
The teenager managed to remain upbeat, however. "I think if I shoot under par tomorrow, if I end up at one over par, maybe I'll make it. But I'm definitely going to go for under par. And at least I'm not in last place."
Casey, playing his first tournament on US soil since causing controversy with his comments about "hating" American players, was troubled more by the weather than hecklers. But his countryman, Justin Rose, was just one shot off the lead after shooting 67, alongside eight others including Paul Azinger, the US Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman and Jeff Sluman.
Cink and Byrum managed to get round without conceding a bogey while Quigley notched up two - but then scored six birdies to more than compensate.
"I need to learn to be more comfortable in the lead and the only way to do that is to get there more often," Cink suggested.