Rancho Mirage, Calif. ? Like many 13-year-olds, Michelle Wie is self-conscious about her braces and ill at ease when talking to adults.

When it comes to hitting the golf ball, though, Wie seems all grown up.

The teenager with the big swing drew gasps from the galleries at the Kraft Nabisco tournament Thursday, pounding the ball more than 300 yards off the tee.

The rest of her game wasn’t bad, as Wie shot an even-par 72 in the first round of the LPGA Tour major championship.

“It was OK,” Wie said. “I can take it.”

Wie wasted no time showing off her long game, knocking her drive on the first hole 30 yards past Kim. On the second, a 504-yard par-5, she was 50 yards past Kim and had 185 yards to the green for her second shot.

The eighth-grader from Honolulu is well on her way to her goal for the week — making the cut for the first time in an LPGA tournament.