Dubai: US golfing sensation Michelle Wie is planning to see-off what's been an indifferent 2010 with a strong finish at this week's Omega Ladies Masters at Emirates Golf Course — where she finished second last year.
A bulging disc and cysts on her spine have limited the Hawaiian-born 21-year-old, of Korean parentage, to just five top ten finishes on the LPGA Tour this year — three less than in 2009, her LPGA debut year.
"I'm feeling a lot better - I've just been rehabbing, recovering. So this week, I'm just going to go out there and try to play pain-free." Wie told reporters.
Of 2010 Wie added, "I didn't play as well as I wanted to in the beginning of the season — hopefully I can start off [next year] really strong and just be healthy for the whole year."
"I really hope I have not reached my peak yet," said Wie who aims to draw a line under 2010 with hopes of a Major in 2011.
"I hope to become a better golfer than this year and if I achieve that for next year I think that's an accomplishment."
Meanwhile, Wie added it would be ‘awesome' to win in Dubai. "It's a fun course. Last year I played really well [here] and hopefully this year I can go out there and do the same if not better."
Exam blues
But standing between herself and the Omega Ladies Masters, which evaded her by three strokes in 2009, is not just 108 of the finest female golfers from around the world but also dreaded University exams, running parallel to the event.
Wie, who is studying for a communications class in politics said, "It [University work] always clashes around this time of year. At least I didn't have to take an exam at 2am like I did last year."
Of her choice of course, Wie added, "I'm a communications major [at Stanford], so it's just something that was in that department and it looked really interesting, with Shanto Iyengar. It was really interesting to take a class from him." Asked if she'd like to get involved with politics eventually, Wie, who has previously said she'd start again left-handed if she ever tired of golf, added, "probably not."
