Harry Cathrea thought his daughter might take a week or so to decide if she wanted to play with professional golfers again next year. Casie Cathrea, though, made up her mind right away.

"Hopefully I can play (this tournament again) next year," Casie said shortly after her second round on a sun-splashed Friday afternoon at Danville's Blackhawk Country Club. "I really want to play again next year and hopefully get to the weekend."

The fairy-tale story of the 13-year-old from Livermore High ended Friday as Cathrea finished the first two rounds of the LPGA Challenge at 5-over 149. The cut was 2 over as the top 70 players and ties advanced to the weekend.

Cathrea, who quickly became a crowd favorite during her time in the tournament, wore a huge smile as she finished her second round with a birdie on the par-4 18th at the Lakeside Course. She shot a 3-over 75 Friday after she finished Thursday with a 74, which included a hole-in-one on No. 12.

Missing the cut did little to dampen the enthusiasm of Cathrea, who was the second-youngest player to qualify for an LPGA event. Stanford student Michelle Wie, now 19, was 12 when she qualified for a tour event in her home state of Hawaii in 2002.

"She did awesome, and it was fun to watch," Harry Cathrea said. "These two days of watching your daughter do something amazing, it's pretty neat."

Cathrea's celebrity status hasn't gone unnoticed at her high school, which hasn't boasted a

But while there was no mistaking the then 6-foot-9 Johnson, Cathrea blends in with everybody else when she's off the course, friends said.

"She's like the talk of our class right now," said Madison Miller, senior captain of the Livermore girls golf team and Cathrea's teammate. "A lot of people ask me, 'Is she mean?' I guess they assume she'd be full of herself. But she's just a sweetheart."

Fellow teammate Katie Anderson said she is impressed by the amount of pressure her friend is able to withstand.

"I know that's a lot of weight to carry — she's young even for a freshman," Anderson said. "But she's so mature, and I think that comes from golf. When you're in tournaments you play with a whole bunch of people of all different ages."

Cathrea birdied the 18th hole for the second straight day Friday, as she hit her approach shot from 115 yards to within 8 feet of the cup.

A few dozen people and two television cameras followed Cathrea for the final few holes, and a large gallery greeted her at the 18th green. After her round, she signed newspapers, programs, hats and golf balls for 15 minutes.

Cathrea teed off shortly before 8 a.m. Friday and went 2 over on the front nine with bogeys on Nos. 2 and 9 to move to 4 over for the tournament. She stayed at the score until double-bogeying the par-3 16th hole, which all but guaranteed that she would miss the cut.

Cathrea, who qualified for the tournament Monday, was vying to become just the second 13-year-old to make the cut in an LPGA event.

In 2003, Wie played in the final two rounds of the Kraft Nabisco Championship. The LPGA Tour allows tournaments to let one amateur into its Monday qualifying events, and tournament organizers chose Cathrea, who is a junior merit member at Blackhawk.

"Hopefully people come out and support me next year," Casie said.

Cathrea returns to Livermore High on Monday.

Staff writer Jeanine Benca contributed to this story.