Unable to earn her card through sponsor exemptions, Michelle Wie has entered the LPGA Tour qualifying school and will play the first stage next week on the California course where she first rose to fame at age 13.

Michelle Wie, seen here at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open in August, will play the first stage of LPGA Tour Q-school next week on the California course where she first rose to fame at age 13. Max Morse/Getty Images

Her father, B.J. Wie, had said at the U.S. Women's Open that Wie had "no other options" but Q-school if she didn't make enough money to finish the equivalent of 80th on the LPGA Tour money list.

"Nothing has changed since then," he said Tuesday morning from Palm Desert, Calif. "She will go to Q-school."

The first stage will be at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, Calif., site of the Kraft Nabisco Championship, where Wie played in the final group of the LPGA's first major when she was in the eighth grade.

The top 30 will advance to the final qualifier in Daytona Beach, Fla., in December, where the top 20 and ties will earn LPGA Tour cards. If Wie falls short in California, she can go to the Florida qualifier to try to get to the finals.

Wie turned pro in 2005 and, a year later, had at least a share of the lead on the back nine of three majors. Her career went into a tailspin shortly after that, when she tried to play through wrist injuries, withdrew from the Ginn Tribute when she was on the verge of shooting 88 and facing suspension, and continued to play an occasional event on men's tours.

She has not won any tournament since the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links in 2003 at age 13.