Five things to look for on the professional golf scene: 1EDINA, Minn. -- It may be hard to believe, but Michelle Wie is still only 18 and this is already her sixth U.S. Open. She got here the hard way.
After a year full of injury, disappointment and critical examination, Wie qualified for the Open at Interlachen and hopes for the best.
Wie said she has had an earful of advice about how to turn her career around.
"I guess the best was just keep smiling," she said. "As easy as it sounds, it was really hard to do.
"I smile through practice, smile through the hard times. . . . Everything has its own path, everything works out on its plan."
Initially, the plan for Wie was for her to spin her fame into instant success on the pro circuit, but once she hurt her wrist while jogging, last year became a total washout.
But she's back on the radar after a sixth-place finish in the German Open on the European Tour. In three LPGA events, she tied for 72nd at the Fields Open, missed the cut at Kingsmill and tied for 24th at the Wegmans LPGA.
David Leadbetter, who worked with Wie here this week, said she's someone to keep an eye on again, maybe even soon.
"She will prove everybody wrong," Leadbetter said.
Wie said she's fully recovered from her wrist injury. She said she enjoyed her freshman year at Stanford, she's going back to school in September and she's having fun on the course again.
2. Yani Tseng, 19, from Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., turned professional last year and has already won a major -- the McDonald's LPGA Championship three weeks ago. If she sounds a bit familiar, Wie knows why. Tseng beat Wie to win the 2004 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.
Tseng was at Torrey Pines, watched the U.S. Open as a spectator and was particularly taken with Adam Scott, with whom she struck up a conversation, although not easily.
"He was a great-looking guy," she said. "And when I saw him, I almost passed out. I was so nervous. It was like 'Hello, I'm . . . ' I can't. I couldn't speak."
3. It was nothing but good news for Tiger Woods after his knee surgery Tuesday in Park City, Utah. No one is willing to go on record with speculation about when he could return to the PGA Tour.
But we do have a clue about how Woods prepared himself for the surgery. He was at the Bank nightclub at Bellagio in Las Vegas for a little celebration with some friends Sunday night, according to MSNBC, which also reported the Woods party was drinking Dom Perignon Rose.
