michelle wie west shot a 10-over-par 82 at the Mizuho Americas Open in her first LPGA Tour event in three years. The round left her 118th out of 119 finishers after she returned at Mountain Ridge Country Club, where she was also hosting the event.
Mountain Ridge Country Club Return
West gave herself an exemption to play before the US Women's Open in June, and the first round showed just how sharp the edge can be after a long break from tournament golf. She last played an LPGA Tour event at the 2023 US Open at Pebble Beach.
She said the nerves hit as soon as she reached the first tee. “It was funny, I wasn't nervous going in, and I get to the first tee and I'm like holy S-*-*-. I now spell my curse words because I'm a mom.”
That first-tee feeling carried through the round. “I was like, wow. Hole all of a sudden looks so small. Got to a two-footer and I'm like, I'm not going to hit the hole. No way.”
Jonnie On The Bag
Her husband Jonnie caddied for her, and she said he spent much of the day steadying her. “My husband was talking me off the ledge the whole round, you know. Golf can take you places, and I went places today.”
West said the round was unlike anything she could recreate in practice. “I mean, as much practice as you can do, as many money games as you can play, there is literally nothing in the world that compares to the first round of a tournament.”
Michelle Wie West Before June
She said the pressure got dark quickly and that playing through it is a skill, not a guess. “I got so nervy out there. I think I was just shocked at how nervous I got, then double down on these greens are tough. These girls are really good out here.”
West ended by treating the round as work toward June rather than a clean reset. “I think playing under nerves is a skill. It's not something you can just wing. There is tools and mechanisms that you can utilize to play under pressure, and that's practice, too, right?” She added, “So I take that feelings that I felt, the nervy feelings that I felt today, I definitely take that as practice.”
