Dubai, July 12: Michelle Wie will be back for the forthcoming Omega Dubai Ladies Masters, to be held again at the Emirates Golf Club in December.
Wie will be making her fourth appearance on the trot in the season-ending Ladies European Tour event where her best finish is second to fellow LPGA star Kim In-kyung of South Korea on her debut in 2009.
The 22-year-old Hawaiian, who has juggled a career on the LPGA Tour with the demands of pursuing a college degree at Stanford University, was joint fifth in 2010 and last year settled for joint 12th on five-under 283.
Now that she has graduated with a degree in communications, Wie is looking forward to ending a roller-coaster year on a high.
“Obviously, the goal is to win the tournament. For that to happen, I need to be on top of my game since they [the organisers] assemble a very strong field each year,” she said ahead of the 500,000 euro (Dh 2.7 million) tournament, promoted and organised by golf in DUBAi.
“I’m practicing really hard, but I can’t really control all of it. What I can do is to have fun out there and just play the best I can.
“The course is just great. I will just think of hitting fairways and greens, giving myself some birdie opportunities and keeping it in play. I never gave up on myself.
“It’s so much fun to be in Dubai. There is always something new to look for, always something new to try. It’s such an interesting place; it’s so mesmerising, so I’m really happy to be playing in the tournament along side high-competitive Ladies European Tour players.”
Wie boasts two victories — the 2009 Lorena Ochoa Invitational and the 2010 CN Canadian Women’s Open — and numerous top-ten finishes since joining the LPGA Tour in 2009.
Mohammad Bu Amim, vice-chairman and CEO of golf in DUBAi, said: “We are really delighted to welcome Michelle back in Dubai. She’s is awfully talented and enjoys tremendous fan following in Dubai.
“It’s no mean achievement that she has graduated from college in four years. That’s pretty impressive to do while pursuing a full time career on the tour. I really admire her work ethic.”
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