Attempting to win a golf tournament that truly matters to you can shake your soul, whether it is the third LPGA Lotte Championship, the 56th Mid-Pacific Open or a Turkey Shoot involving 8-year-olds.

Your heart starts to pound, your focus fades and your muscles tense up. In a sport with so many intricate movements, bad shots and flat-out shanks can creep in quickly.

TJ Kua opens defense of his Mid-Pac championship this morning at Mid-Pacific Country Club. He knows precisely how Michelle Wie felt Saturday at Ko Olina and two weekends before that when her attempt to catch Lexi Thompson in the final round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship proved futile.

"Last year I went through the round Sunday waiting for Dean Wilson to make a charge," recalls Kua, who soared into the lead with a second-round 62. "He was not playing too well, I was not playing too well and when we came to 13 or 14, I thought if I just par in I should win. Then you start playing different golf. You fall asleep and things start happening and you wake up in the middle of the woods. It’s about focus and playing in the moment. There’s no way to practice it except being in that moment.

"Somebody told me when I was at UH that no matter what level you are you have to learn how to win try to make it a habit. Win smaller tournaments first, rather than gigantic ones, to build your confidence."

Wie has been on a "gigantic" stage since she was 10. People were fascinated by the child who won a USGA national championship, nearly made the cut at a PGA Tour event and contended at LPGA majors before she had taken the SAT at Punahou.

"She has that it’ factor," says Casey Nakama, the 1996 Mid-Pac champ who taught Wie the game at Olomana Golf Links. "She has the look, she’s tall, fits clothes nicely. She has that thing where people want to follow her around. It’s just the way she carries herself and she’s such a good girl, too.

"It’s great as long as she wins. Unfortunately, when you are in the spotlight and you make mistakes and don’t win there is so much criticism. It comes hand in hand with the good times. You’ve got to take the downside too."

That’s true at any level of golf and for any sport. Wie, with her multi-million-dollar contracts, Stanford degree and international appeal, has transcended sports. She has recaptured imaginations with her torrid start this year, leading people to believe Saturday’s win was just the beginning again.

For all the teasing she has taken about her putting style and near-misses even when she played pingpong Saturday night people told her "don’t leave it short" the truth is Wie three-putted her first and last holes at Ko Olina and nothing in between.

She now ranks 17th in putting on greens that she reached in regulation a stat where she ranks first. In very tough, windy conditions, the new No. 12 golfer in the world ran away from a stellar field for her first win since 2010.

Maybe more to the point, Wie looked like she enjoyed almost every moment of her trip home, along with her reinvigorated Hawaii fans, friends and family. Christina Kim was in tears as she poured champagne over her friend’s head on the 18th green.

Kua followed Wie online and Nakama watched it all. Both spoke about a segment they saw on the Golf Channel a few weeks ago, where Wie spoke of not watching tapes of her swing anymore.

"That’s one of the good things that’s happened," Nakama said. "What she’s done has been so mechanical the last several years. It’s becoming less mechanical. She’s playing golf rather than playing the golf swing."

Nakama still winces at the "stiffness" of her swing, which is so far removed from the fluid motion that first blew away a range full of PGA Tour pros at the Sony Open in Hawaii. But he likes other changes, especially her resurgent smile and her composure when it really counted Saturday.

"She’s more mature, understands all the stuff going on around her better now," he says. "I don’t know, but I think she might be taking more control of her life. When she was young she got so much advice from so many different angles, there was so much chaos in her camp, she was playing against the men, all the instructors, it was a big mess. Now she’s taking control of what she wants to do. It shows. She can win golf tournaments playing this way.

"She could dominate the LPGA Tour if she progresses normally, absolutely. Who is to say this might be the trigger and it could start snowballing? She’s still young. I’m sure when she plays with the other girls she knows she’s the superior ball striker."

Nakama, a self-described "old-timer" who still gets nervous on the first tee at Mid-Pacific, tees off at 12:51 p.m. today and Kua at 12:33.

There are 68 more pros in the open field, including David Ishii, Alex Ching, Kevin Hayashi, Jared Sawada, Nathan Lashley, Dean Wilson, Parker McLachlin, Nick Mason, Jesse Mueller, Dave Eichelberger and Kimberly Kim.

Top amateurs include Kyle Suppa, Matt Ma, Brandan Kop, PJ Samiere, Shawn Lu and Kyosuke Hara.

LOCAL ACES