Michelle Wie West shoots 'nervy' 82 in first LPGA round in 3 years

Michelle Wie West's first competitive round in three years was a nervy one.

"It was funny, I wasn't nervous going in, and I get to the first tee and I'm like holy s-h-i-t. I now spell my curse words because I'm a mom," said Wie West.

"I was like, 'wow, hole all of a sudden looks so small'. Got to a 2-footer and I'm like, 'I'm not going to hit the hole. No way.' Happy that I played today ahead of the U.S. Open. I think – I mean, as much practice as you can do, as many money games as you can play, there is literally nothing in the world that compares to the first round of a tournament."

Michelle Wie West plays her shot from the third tee during the first round of the 2026 Mizuho Americas Open at Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, New Jersey.

Wie West took 37 putts in an opening 10-over 82 at the Mizuho Americas Open, where she's playing on a sponsor invitation. The Mizuho tournament host is teeing it up this week at Mountain Ridge Country Club as a warm-up for her U.S. Women's Open appearance at Riviera next month. It turns out the conditions at Mountain Ridge are major-like, with only 10 players under par in the morning wave.

Wie West made two double-bogeys and a triple-bogey in her first 11 holes. She was 6 over through five. Things calmed down a bit on the back nine as she played her last seven holes even par.

"It's all about putting it in perspective, right? My husband was talking me off the ledge the whole round," said Wie West. "Golf can take you places, and I went places today. But, you know, it's just – you got to see the big picture at the end of the day. I'm so proud of what we built here. I feel extremely lucky to have the opportunity to have the space to play today.

"The back nine I made some good birdies. Putting felt a lot better. If you ever see me putt right-hand low ever again, just yell from outside the ropes, don't do it."

She'll be using a claw grip the rest of the way.

Two players have separated themselves from the rest of the field on a chilly, windy morning in West Caldwell, New Jersey. Andrea Lee leads the way at 6 under while world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul posted a 67. Angel Yin and Ruoning Yin both posted 70.