Golf: Wie and Sorenstam ease through at Matchplay

GLADSTONE, New Jersey - Second seed Michelle Wie recovered from a shaky start to take one of the biggest first round golf wins on her debut in the Women's World Matchplay championship today.

Favourite Annika Sorenstam also eased through to the last 32 with a 3 and 2 win over Thailand's Virada Nirapathpongporn at Hamilton Farm Golf Club.

Wie, who tied for third in the US Women's Open last week, beat Brazil's Candy Hannemann 5 and 3 after a faltering start.

The 16-year-old lost the first two holes but then got into her stride in the head-to-head format and won six holes in a row from the fourth.

She took the sixth, seventh and eighth with birdies to reach the turn five up and set up a second round match against the flamboyant US Solheim Cup player Christina Kim.

"I hit a poor tee shot at the first and made a rather rocky start," Wie said.

"But then I played really solid and everything went the way I planned. But matchplay is very different. If you don't play well one day then you are out. It's a bit more intense than 72-holes strokeplay, but I enjoy it."

Sorenstam, who claimed her 10th career major at the US Women's Open in a play-off on Monday, raced into a three hole lead over Nirapathpongporn with birdies at the second, third and fourth.

She was pegged back to just one up after losing the 10th to a par and the short 12th to a birdie.

Sorenstam went two up again after Nirapathpongporn hit into undergrowth at the 13th, but the 24-year-old rookie again hit back with a winning par at the 14th.

The Swede was not going to fall victim to an upset defeat from a player ranked 64th of the 64 competitors and she holed a 12-foot birdie putt from the fringe to win the 15th and closed out her opponent with a par at the next.

"The match was a little bit up and down, but I got there in the end," said Sorenstam, who showed no signs of fatigue from her US Open victory.

"I hadn't played the course because the Pro-am was rained off, but as soon as I stood on the first tee it all came back to me from last year."

Sorenstam, who went out at the quarterfinal stage last year, now meets American Heather Young who beat South Korea's Yim Sung Ah with a birdie at the first extra hole.

Defending Champion Marisa Baena, from Colombia, had a close call before squeezing through with a par at the 21st hole against American Wendy Ward.

- REUTERS