Michelle Wie's hopes of making her first PGA Tour cut looked very slim after she battled to a six-over-par 77 in Thursday's opening round at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois.

The 16-year-old Hawaiian double-bogeyed her second hole and dropped six more shots, along with two birdies, before finishing 13 strokes off the pace on a fog-delayed day.

Bidding to become the first woman to make the cut on the PGA Tour in 61 years, Wie ended up in the trees, water, bunkers and even the weeds before equalling the fourth worst score of the day.

Fellow American Mike Springer propped up the bottom of the leaderboard with a dismal 80 while compatriots Bob May, who lost a play-off to Tiger Woods for the 2000 PGA Championship, and Mike Sposa, who was later disqualified, returned 78s.

Based on the opening day's scores, the second-round cut was projected to fall at one under with the top 70 players and ties qualifying for the weekend.

Widely regarded as the most exciting young talent since Tiger Woods, Wie is competing with the men for the ninth time in a professional event, and for the fifth time on the PGA Tour.

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