After playing with Wie, Marino sees his way to front

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HONOLULU, Hawaii -- When Steve Marino teed off Thursday in the first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii, he couldn't help but think back to his opening round at Waialae Country Club a year ago.

Playing with Michelle Wie last year was a learning experience for Steve Marino. (Ferrey/WireImage)

Inside the Numbers

Marino thru 36 Holes

Category Total Eagles 0 Birdies 11 Pars 22 Bogeys 3 Double Bogeys 0 Other 0 Driving Accuracy 71.4% Driving Distance 296.0 yds. Greens in Regulation 86.1% Putts per Round 29.5 Putts per GIR 1.677 Sand Saves 33.3%

Marino was a making his PGA TOUR debut as a rookie that day, but he was hardly flying under the radar. After all, one of his playing partners for the first two rounds was none other than Michelle Wie and their gallery numbered in the thousands.

"I was kind of thrown into the lion's den right off the bat playing with Michelle," Marino recalled. "I mean, there were so many people out here watching us play. I think it was definitely a good experience for me playing in front of a lot of people, playing in front of TV cameras.

"I kind of embraced it last year playing with her right off the bat just because I knew if I wanted to play out here I was going to have to get used to that kind of atmosphere."

Maybe sooner than he thinks, too -- if Marino's performance over the first two rounds at Waialae Country Club this week is any indication.

The Virginia grad followed an opening 65 with a 67 on Friday that left him alone in third in the $5.3 million event, the first full-field tournament on the PGA TOUR, as the second round wound down. Marino is three strokes behind K.J. Choi, who has a 36-hole total of 11 under par, and one behind Kevin Na.

"I'm real happy with the way I played today," said Marino, who birdied four of his first eight holes. "I got off to a hot start and kind of stalled for a little bit, but I made a nice putt on 18 to cap off a good round."

Marino said the two rounds he played with the popular Hawaiian teenager a year ago served him well as the 2007 season progressed. He went on to win $1.179 million and post four top-10 finishes in a solid rookie campaign.

"I learned that I can compete and play with these guys out here, and I feel like I belong," Marino said. "I am looking forward to this year, and I am trying to get myself into contention as many times as I possibly can and hopefully get a win or two."

Most TOUR rookies get their feet wet in relative obscurity, though -- assigned the earliest and latest tee times each day. Not so for Marino, a sociology major who dealt with the scrutiny at the Sony Open last year very well and went on to tie for 34th.

"You've got to stay focused and you can't let things going on outside the ropes distract you," Marino explained. "You can't have rabbit ears, so to speak. I was able to do that. There was a lot of commotion going on outside the ropes and none of it really bothered me.

"I was kind of shocked myself that I was able to handle it so well."

Marino has found Waialae even more to his liking this year. He's made 11 birdies over the first two rounds, found 20 of 28 fairways and has hit all but five greens in greens in regulation to lead the field at 86 percent.

Marino's steady play this week may be a result of an equipment change he made during the offseason -- although not in the classical sense.

While some players try out new drivers, putters and balls during the break, Marino got a new set of eyes. He had LASIK surgery Dec. 7 on both eyes and is extremely pleased with the results.

"I wasn't even seeing close to 20/20 with my contacts last year, so when I got the surgery done, the next day I've never seen that well before in my life, so it definitely made a big difference," he said.

"I can actually see the flagstick from 150 yards away now and I can tell whether my ball is in the fairway or in the rough off the tee. It definitely made a difference."

Reading the break on putts is also a much more precise proposition now. Marino sees the grain better and he can even pick out little pieces of grass on the green.

"It didn't take any adjustment period at all," Marino said. "I can't even describe it. I never saw that well. I mean, I needed the flag tended from 30 feet last year, and now I'm 60 feet away and I can see the hole fine. It's just awesome."