To use the phrase, "It's about time" with Michelle Wie seems somewhat amusing, considering she is just 24 years old.
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But being a recognized name for more than a decade in women's golf, maybe the better phrase is just that "she's due."
Wie has a three-stroke lead over Lexi Thompson halfway through the U.S. Women's Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, N.C. - the course double-dipping as a major after hosting the men's U.S. Open last week.
Wie has matching 2-under 68s and is at 4-under entering Saturday's third round. She and Thompson are the only golfers under par, which is fitting in a sense because they were also the top two golfers during the first women's major of the season at the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
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The two entered the last day of that event tied at 10-under. Thompson played aggressively and shot a 4-under 68 in the final round to beat Wie, who played conservatively for a 1-under 71, by three strokes.
According to ESPNW, style of play long has been Wie's nemesis. When she burst onto the scene as an 11-year-old phenom, she'd try just about any shot with the thought process of, "Hey, I bet I can do this," ESPNW reported.
When the phenom portion gave way to the circus show - as Wie entered men's events and began to struggle in any event she entered - she lost her aggressiveness and struggled in the opposite direction.
"I went through a phase where I was too aggressive," Wie told reporters after her second round. "I think I went through a phase where I was maybe not aggressive enough. I think I've learned from both situations.
"Hopefully, being a little bit older, I'm a little bit wiser," ESPNW reported Wie as saying. "I'm just learning the risk/reward, thinking it through."
Her game has been coming together the entire 2014 season, even with the Kraft Nabisco final round in which she played well enough to be tied entering the final round. Leading up to the U.S. Open, Wie had eight top-10 finishes in 12 events including a victory in her home state of Hawaii - her first tournament win in four years.
Now, she stands on the cusp of winning her first major that once seemed like a foregone conclusion a decade ago.
"The way Michelle has played the last six months, you look at her differently," said Stacy Lewis, the first-round leader who dropped back to a tie for third after a 3-over 73 on Friday left her at even-par for the event. "I think she's become one of the best ball-strikers on tour. She hits it really consistent, she knows where the ball is going and she's figuring out how to win.
"It's great for women's golf that she's playing well. That brings a lot of fans in."
The question for now is, can Wie bring it on him this weekend?
Do you think Michelle Wie will win her first major this weekend? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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