Golf International Magazine Online

Unable to break par against the women, Michelle Wie is taking a break from competing against the men.

Wie decided Tuesday to withdraw from the John Deere Classic as she tries to return from wrist injuries that have sent the 17-year-old from Hawaii into a deep slump of high scores and shrinking confidence.

"While my rehabilitation is on schedule, I do not have all of my strength back yet," Wie said in a statement. "The TPC Deere Run course is obviously very long, and I just don't have the length to play there right now."

Wie said she still plans to play next week in the U.S. Women's Open at Pine Needles, and she said she would keep playing the rest of the summer as she tries to regain strength in her wrists.

Wie has played the John Deere Classic the last two years on sponsor exemptions, nearly making the cut as a 15-year-old in 2005 with a performance that made her a celebrity with the community. She was one shot below the cut line until a double bogey and a bogey late in her round, missing by two shots with rounds of 70-71.

She opened with a 77 last year, then withdrew midway through the second round with what was said to be heat exhaustion. Wie was taken from the course on a stretcher.

Wie's right wrist was taped at the Sony Open in January on the PGA Tour, where she shot 78-76, then she broke a bone in her left wrist when she fell while jogging in a park a few weeks later. Wie sat out four months, returning at the Ginn Tribute in South Carolina only to withdraw under curious circumstances.

She was 14 over through 16 holes when she withdrew citing her injured wrists. Two more bogeys would have invoked the LPGA Tour's "Rule 88," in which non-tour members are banned for a year if they can't break 88. She showed up at Bulle Rock two days later to get ready for the LPGA Championship, and finished at 21 over par, including an 83 in the third round.

Wie, who graduated high school earlier this month, has gone 20 consecutive rounds without breaking par, eight of those against the men.

The John Deere Classic begins July 12, two weeks after the U.S. Women's Open.

"We support Michelle's decision and we sincerely hope she continues on the path to reach her full potential in every aspect of her life," tournament director Clair Peterson said. "We look forward to welcoming her back when the time is right."