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MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
GLADSTONE, N.J. - The one-on-one match between Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie will have to wait.
What would have been a dream finale today in the Women's World Match Play Championship between the two most popular female golfers on the planet was shattered yesterday when both were eliminated in separate quarterfinal matches. The 16-year-old Wie was knocked out by relatively little known 20-year-old Brittany Lincicome. Sorenstam was dispatched by match-play veteran Juli Inkster.
Wie, a 4-and-3 loser, was bounced from the tournament at Hamilton Farm Golf Club, ending her bid for her first LPGA Tour victory, while Sorenstam lost 1-up.
"I'm not happy with the way I played, with how it ended up," Wie said. "Obviously I'm disappointed that I didn't win today, but I still feel satisfied with the way I played. I didn't lose because I didn't play well. It's just that I played well and she had a couple shots better than me."
Sorenstam, who won last week's U.S. Women's Open for her 10th major, didn't fare much better, losing on the 18th hole of her match against Inkster when she pushed her birdie putt wide right. Inkster, who chipped in on No. 16 and overcame a deficit that had her down three after four holes, sank a four-foot birdie putt on No. 18, advancing to face Paula Creamer today in one semifinal.
"What can I say, other than Juli beat me today," Sorenstam said. "I got off to a great start, and she finished strong."
Lincicome will face Lorena Ochoa, who advanced past Sophie Gustafson, 3-and-2, in the other semifinal.
Wie defeated Se Ri Pak 2-and-1 yesterday morning in the third round with a two-putt par on No. 17, but ran into trouble in the afternoon when she lost three of the first five holes against Lincicome, the No. 39 seed, thanks in large part to poor putting and erratic short play.
Wie is one of the longest hitters in the field this week, but with every putt she pushed far and wide of the cup it became more apparent the final between her and Sorenstam, the world's best female golfer, was not to be.
"A couple putts didn't go in," Wie said. "There's nothing I can do about that. Some putts go in, some putts don't."
The teenager's frustration hit its crescendo when Wie missed a 10-foot par putt on No. 13 that put her four down with five holes to play. She stormed off the green, leaving her ball behind following her first bogey of the match. Her rage only intensified when it took her two shots to escape a fairway bunker along the right side on No. 15, two shots that ultimately clinched her early dismissal.
evan.grossman@nypost.com
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