Wie's cut hopes in disarray at John Deere Classic

CHICAGO, July 14 (Reuters) Michelle Wie's hopes of making her first PGA Tour cut looked very slim after she battled to a six-over-par 77 in The opening round at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois.

The 16-year-old Hawaiian double-bogeyed her second hole and dropped six more shots, along with two birdies, before finishing 13 strokes off the pace on a fog-delayed day at the TPC at Deere Run.

Bidding to become the first woman to make the cut on the PGA Tour in 61 years, Wie ended up in the trees, water, bunkers and even the weeds before equalling the fourth worst score of the day.

Fellow American Mike Springer propped up the bottom of the leaderboard with a dismal 80 while compatriots Bob May, who lost a playoff to Tiger Woods for the 2000 PGA Championship, and Mike Sposa, who was later disqualified, returned 78s.

Based on the opening day's scores, the second-round cut was projected to fall at one under with the top 70 players and ties qualifying for the weekend.

Wie's problems began on the 11th tee, her second hole of the day, when she was disturbed by several insects crawling over her.

After backing off the shot five times, she pushed her drive well right into trees, lost the ball and had to take a penalty drop.

''Considering that I had the water hazard penalties, considering that I had to call unplayable, considering that I hit my driver like 50 yards right, I felt like I played really well,'' a surprisingly upbeat Wie told reporters.

''I made a lot of great up-and-downs, putted great and my irons were good.

''I feel like I have a really good round in me,'' added the Honolulu schoolgirl, who missed the cut by two strokes at last year's John Deere Classic.

''If I hit the fairways more, I could have shot a lot under par. I really feel like I can do it (make the cut). I feel really motivated to do it.'' EARLY MISHAP After her early mishap at the par-four 11th, Wie went bogey-birdie-bogey-bogey-birdie-bogey before reaching the turn in four-over 40.

She picked up her first shot of the day by sinking a 12-footer at the par-four 13th and chipped in from 50 feet for her other birdie at the par-three 16th.

Despite playing much more settled golf over her homeward nine, Wie also dropped at the first and the eighth to finish well down the leaderboard.

Asked what she had done to improve her game after the turn, she replied: ''I just changed my posture a little bit and tweaked around a little bit, played around with my shots.

''It couldn't get any worse. Luckily it worked, so I'll keep that same mentality going for tomorrow.

''On the last couple of holes during the back nine, I felt like my driver was working very well,'' she added. ''I have a lot of confidence going into tomorrow.'' Widely regarded as the most exciting young talent since Tiger Woods, Wie is competing with the men for the ninth time in a professional event, and for the fifth time on the PGA Tour.

Although she finally made the cut in a men's tournament at the Asian Tour's SK Telecom Open in May, she has set her sights on qualifying for the weekend on the world's most competitive tour.

Wie is hoping to follow in the footsteps of American Babe Zaharias, who made the cut at the Phoenix Open and Tucson Open on the 1945 PGA Tour.

REUTERS PM KP0914