MICKELSON AND MICHELLE FAIL TO

FINISH: BOTH RETIRE WITH

WRIST INJURIES

Thursday's big golf news is not about who is playing but who is NOT playing.
Phil Mickelson has withdrawn from the Memorial Tournament halfway through the opening round because of a left wrist injury.
He was two over par after 11 holes when he came off the Muirfield Village club course. His hand was massaged between shots while he was on the course.
Meanwhile, Michelle Wie, pictured right, dropped out of the Ginn Tribute tournament at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina after 16 holes. She was 14 over par at the time, having had a 10 at one hole.
The 17-year-old from Hawaii played the round with supportive bandages on her wrists.
Wie had not played competitive golf since missing the cut at the US PGA Tour Sony Open men's tournament since then. She had been recovering from wrist injuries and going to school/college since then.

She started at the 10th hole with Janice Moodie and Alena Sharp as her playing partners. She was 14 over par and heading for the eighth tee, her 17th hole, when she was stopped by her Nike business manager Greg Nard. After a brief conversation, they called over an LPGA official and Michelle said she was "not playing any more."

Later Miss Wie said her retiral after 16 holes had nothing to do with the LPGA rule that bans non-tour members for a year if they shoot 88 or higher in one of its tournaments.

Wie was only two bogeys short of reaching that figure when, obviously on the advice/instructions of her manager, she quit.

"I had issues with my wrist. Shooting 88 is not what I think about," she said later at a Press conference.

Wie did not shake her wrist or show any sign of discomfort during the round. Last season, she grabbed her wrist on several occasions, even during press conferences.
"She wasn't holding her wrist," said playing partner Sharp. "I think she just had a bad day. If it was her wrist, why wait until the last two holes [to withdraw]?"
Wie's career, not to put too fine a point on it, is now at the crossroads. Perhaps it has been for sometime but this latest bizarre day means she has not broken par in an LPGA event since last July.

"I really felt sorry for Michelle out there," said Alena Sharp. "She did not look a happy girl at all."

Michelle said she still hopes to play in next week's LPGA major, the McDonald's LPGA championship.

MICKELSON STILL CONFIDENT ABOUT US OPEN

Back to Phil Mickelson - and he insisted later that the wrist injury would not keep him out of the US Open, starting on June 14.
He said: "I don't think it's anything serious. I'll take a couple of days off, see if I can ice it and get it ready for the US Open."
The American was two over par at the time, having suffered a double bogey at the par-three eighth hole and a bogey at the par-five 11th.
"I'll try to even play in Memphis next week if I can, but the Open is more what we're gearing up for," he confirmed.
Mickelson revealed that the wrist began hurting on Monday during a practice round at Oakmont.
He explained: "I was hitting a lot of chip shots out of the rough and I think that aggravated it.
"I hit some drivers (on the range) today and it started hurting a little bit, but nothing I thought I couldn't handle.
"I took four Advil, thought it's all right, and when I hit a wedge (on the second hole) it (the pain) shot up my arm.
"I kind of half-clubbed it around (after that). It just got worse. I couldn't grab the club and couldn't swing."

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