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Heat exhaustion KO’s Wie from John Deere


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She was in obvious pain over the next four holes, bending over and gripping her stomach, wiping her face with a towel and sitting on her bag every chance she got. Her caddie gave her several bottles of cold water to drink, but Wie only got worse and Shnurman was summoned when she was on the seventh hole.

Though she gutted out the rest of the front nine, her play got more and more mechanical. She managed only a slight wave after making a nice birdie putt on No. 8, and responded with a weak smile when a fan called out “Nice shot, Michelle.”

After teeing off on the ninth, she took a seat on her bag, holding her sides and bowing her head. At one point she sat up straight but put her hand to her mouth, as if she was going to get sick.

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When she stood up, she put her hand to her mouth again and headed toward some weeds next to the tee. She stood there for a minute or two, but didn’t get sick. Shnurman checked on her, walking with her to her ball and asking how she was feeling.

“With the heat and when you don’t feel well, she was appropriate for what she was going through,” Shnurman said.

After putting out on the ninth, Wie went to talk to her worried-looking parents. After making the decision to withdraw, she said goodbye to her playing partners.

“She just said, ‘I’m going to withdraw,’ which was good because she was holding us up again,” said Gove, who finished at 1-over 143 and missed the cut by three strokes.

Wie is now 0-for-5 in PGA Tour events. She will get another chance to make history in September, when she is scheduled to play the 84 Lumber Classic at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa in Farmington, Pa.

Wie needed the round of her career and a lot of help Friday to make the cut. She didn’t get either, scrambling to save par on No. 1 and making a bogey on the par-5 No. 2 when her 15-foot par putt stopped just short of the hole.

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Wie started struggling on the long par-4 fifth. She had an animated discussion with her caddie, Greg Johnston, and he appeared to be trying to encourage her. When they approached the green, though, she took a heavy seat on her bag and bowed her head.

After teeing off on the sixth hole, she sat on a box, then stood up and leaned on a cooler. She walked off the tee rubbing her stomach, and bent over her bag until it was her turn to hit.

As she waited for Gove to putt, Wie knelt at the edge of the green with her head bowed, pulling the bill of her baseball cap over her eyes.

“I saw she was hurting, but she never said anything,” Gove said. “And she was walking real slow, which I thought was inconsiderate again because we’re trying to keep up. If we get on the clock again, that’s painful.”

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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