Mel Evans / AP

Michelle Wie played her first 18 holes in men's U.S. Open qualifying in 2-under 68, then struggled on the second 18 and finished at 1 over Monday.

Brett Quigley set the course record on the South with a 7-under 63 and was the medalist at 11-under 131.

“Somebody asked me if I was worried she was going to beat me,” he said. “I said, ’I don’t care if she beats me as long as I get in.”’

Wie has played eight tournaments against men, making the cut for the first time last month at the SK Telecom Open in South Korea on the Asian Tour.

This was the second time she captivated fans with an improbable bid to play in a men’s major. Last summer, she reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur Public Links, with the winner getting an invitation to the Masters.

The highlight of her day came on the 18th hole in the morning.

Her tee shot into the right rough came within 15 feet of going into the water, and she hit her approach into the rough atop a bunker, grass so thick that were tiny mushrooms around the ball.

“I was hacking through the rough. I was like, ’Oh, God, get your bogey and get out of here,”’ she said.

Her chip came out strong, smacked into the pin and dropped for an unlikely birdie, not only giving her a 68, but marking the first time she played bogey-free when competing against men. She was tied for 13th going into the afternoon, and Canoe Brook was buzzing.

Throughout the day, Wiemania reached another level.

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Sectional qualifiers typically draw a few hundred people, most of those family or friends. The crowd tagging along after Wie was about the same size as the one watching Mickelson play in the Memorial on Sunday.

And it caused a few problems, as expected.

As she made her way to the 10th tee on the North course to start her second round, hundreds of people followed behind her and caused players on the 12th green to back off their shots, one caddie raising his arms in disgust.

Quigley was on an adjacent hole when Wie made birdie on the 17th in the afternoon.

“I was getting ready to tee off and I heard people going wild through the woods,” Quigley said. “I figured she’d made a birdie. It was great to see people so energized.”

But this wasn’t a typical U.S. Open qualifier. And Wie pledged that it won’t be her last.

“I’m not going to quit after this,” Wie said. “I don’t see the point in that.”