For a girl who seemed to have the world at her feet at 12 when she became the youngest player to qualify for an LPGA Tour event, at 13 when she became the youngest ever to make the cut on the same Tour and at 16 by which time she had already attracted endorsements reported to total $24 million, it seems odd that at 19 she is now having to muck in with all of the world's other hopefuls to scramble for a spot on next year's PgGA Tour.

But that's the way things have gone for the tall Hawaiian daughter of Korean university academics during the last two years, when playing in the half dozen sponsors events allowed a non-member of the Tour.

Her career has been full of missed cuts and other unhappy incidents like disqualifications, partly due a series of wrists injuries and partly due to a loss of confidence which flowed, both from her injuries and from her abortive attempts to play on sponsors exemptions against the men of the US PGA Tour.

She never made the cut in any of those events and things were going from bad to worse when she decided it was time to change course and enroll at the University of Stanford where Tiger cut his golfing teeth in his late teens and in the few tournaments she has played since then, she has started to regain her lost swing and her confidence.

She began this week's LPGA qualifier on Wednesday with a solid 3-under 69 that has put her in 10th place, five shots behind 1st round leader Shiho Oyama of Japan who shot a blistering 8-under 64 to lead fellow countrywoman Mika Miyazato by two shots, but 69 was enough to give her the momentum she needs to succeed in her single purpose of earning her 2009 Tour Card.

"There's a lot at stake, really, because she's got something to prove," her coach, David Leadbetter, said on Tuesday when attempting to explain the reason for her reluctance to talk to reporters.

"She's been touted as this young phenom, which she was, and sort of went off the rails. It wasn't just the fact that she lost her mind. It was the fact that you can't play golf when you're injured. That's the bottom line."

This year Wie missed the cut at the US Women's Open and other events, was disqualified from the LPGA State Farm Classic for failing to sign her scorecard after the second round but still foolishly accepted an invitation to play against the men in the PGA Tour's Reno-Tahoe Open and once again flopped miserably

''She lost her swing,'' Leadbetter said. ''She lost her confidence. It was so tough watching her play knowing how she can play.''

But slowly, he believes, her confidence is beginning to return. He hopes that it won't be too long before she rediscovers her old magic and becomes a major attraction in women's golf at a moment in time when the tour is loosing the glittering star that Annika Sorenstam has been

On Tuesday Leadbetter was at Wie's side while she worked out on the driving range at the at LPGA International's Legends Course after playing nine holes in the morning.

Putting has tended to be a weakness for Wie, but on Wednesday, she made a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole to post that hearting first-round 69 in the qualifier.

If she can finish in the top 20 after the fifth, and final round on Sunday, she'll become an LPGA Tour member, and although she won't have the same status as players who finished in the top 80 of the 2008 money list, she'll still be able to play in far more events than she did in 2008.

"I think the LPGA just needs some young American players to step up and compete with (Mexico's) Lorena (Ochoa) and the other top players in the world," said Stacy Lewis, who tied for third in this year's US Women's Open but is also taking part in this week's in Q-School.

"Michelle's definitely a draw. Everywhere she goes, she has a crowd. So I think it would definitely help the LPGA, but I think that's also a lot of pressure for her."

THREE LEAD US PGA TOUR FINAL QUALIFIER

Major Manning, Craig Kanada and Joey Lamielle each posted different 7-under 65s to grab a share of the lead in the first of six rounds at the PGA Tour's final qualifying tournament.

Manning, who made it through two stages of Q-school to reach the finals, had five straight birdies in the middle of his round on the TPC Stadium Course, while Kanada started his round with six straight birdies on the Nicklaus Tournament Course.

Lamielle, who also began his quest for a card in the first stage, shot his 65 on the Nicklaus course.

The 108-hole tournament, one of the most grueling in golf, will end on Monday with the top 25 players and ties earning 2009 UAS PGA Tour cards.