Michelle Wie guns for second consecutive "dead last"

Is she stru-ga-liiing?

 

Although I'm in agreement that she should not play any more PGA events, I want to underline what Claws said, because some of you seem to be steamrolling right over it.

It's not as if she can go out and play in next week's LPGA stop. She is severely limited as to how many LPGA events she can compete in before her 18th birthday. Her only other option is overseas.

 

And that's where you fail to realize, Carolyn Bivins was ready to give her a special expemtion based on her World ranking. So that argument is out.

 

Maybe she needs to take like four months off, get Dave Pelz to fix her putter, and try again next year?
And at the opposite end of the spectrum, is what she did any worse than Arnold Palmer shooting 89 today?

 

Point ... but that's one tournament.

 

But how much competition can Young find in domestic junior tournaments? Is he so far above the rest of the American kids that it's almost a waste of his time to play 18-and-under events?

If he doesn't start growing soon, he's going to be a total washout within two years.

I also hate the fact that he's allowed to play junior tournaments while taking money from Nike.
Top juniors have gotten free stuff for years, but the rules change that allowed them to be paid just seems wrong.

 

Maybe she should be playing junior golf or something between LPGA events. Sidney Crosby played junior hockey until he was 18 because he wasn't old enough to play professionally.

Arnie's earned certain rights and privileges in the game of golf. He could whip his dick out and piss all over the 18th green if he wanted to. I think he can shoot an 89 and not have anyone ask him any questions about it.

 

Who cares? Is it better to get paid under the table, rather than right out in the open?

If the other players don't like it, the solution is simple: Get better than Young, start beating him, and pretty soon, you'll get paid too.

 

As someone who has knowledge of Wie's situation, let me interject a few things:

First, as Ace and Shotty pointed out, Wie is caught between the proverbial rock and the equally proverbial hard place. She is limited to six LPGA exemptions (the last of which being -- GRATUITOUS PLUG -- the Samsung World Championship next month), plus the U.S. and Women's British Opens. So it's not like she can simply tee it up in the Longs Drug Classic or Shop Rite.

Second: Ergo, Wie's in golf's version of the Twilight Zone; she can't play every week, but her sponsors (read Nike and Sony) want her out there as much as possible. So would you, if you were shelling out $10 million to an athlete who you deem a trailblazer. Not to be confused with Reason 1 (her ability as a ticket draw), this is Reason 1-A why you see her flailing away at a men's event near you.

Third, as Gold pointed out, she has three top-five finishes in the four LPGA majors. I will repeat that. She has three top-five finishes in LPGA majors -- a claim Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa and Cristie Kerr can't make. Wie would be somewhere around 18th on the LPGA Money List if she were a member -- which she probably will be this time next year. Bank on it.

Tee to green, Wie can hang with anyone. She hits the ball long and fairly straight and has a vastly improved iron game. Where she really needs help is on and around the greens. She simply can't hang with the men -- who can get up-and-down from anywhere -- in that regard. Had she chipped like the average PGA TOUR player, she'd of won the Kraft Nabisco this year.

And on the greens? A total work in progress and the biggest millstone around her neck. She does need a crash course from Stan Utley or Dave Pelz in how to lag and how to convert the 4-8 footers that are the difference between winning and finishing 12th.

The thing about that is, most youngsters are clueless around the greens. Their lack of fear does them little good when touch and intellect is required to save par.

Does Wie need to win? Absolutely. Should she ratchet down the riduculous talk about "making the Ryder Cup team." Yesterday. Should she have won more than a Women's Publinx? Probably. Does this validate Earl Woods' theory that if you win and dominate, the money will take care of itself?

As of now, yes.

Thing is, she'll eventually win on the LPGA, probably before she turns 18 next October. And like Phil Mickelson after he won his first Masters, the Ws will pile up after that.


And as far as Arnie goes? Well, since the man is responsible for the popularity of golf in this country, and is largely responsible for the rise of the PGA TOUR into the entity it is today, he's got a shooting license to fire whatever the hell he can on the Champions Tour as long as he can take the club back.

 

I know a claim Sorenstam, Ochoa and Kerr can make that Wie can't -- they've each won at least one professional golf tournament.

It matters not that Wie had three top-five finishes in the majors this year. She didn't win any of them, unlike Sorenstam.

In fact, she's never won a professional tournament of any kind. She's only ever won one amateur tournament. Until she starts winning, she should stay away from the PGA Tour.

If she's not interested in applying for an exemption to join the LPGA -- like Morgan Pressel did -- she should be playing junior golf -- like Morgan Pressel did.

 

RYDER CUP?

Her parents are f'n delusional.

 

DD beat me to it. Michelle Wie going against PGA players has become a freak show. Everyone's paying for the novelty of seeing Michelle Wie, but walk away with this unsettling feeling, wondering what they've really paid for. It's as if she's trying to legitimize herself as a golfer in the most outrageous way possible, when the most orthodox way - going against the LPGAers and competing well against/probably beating them - would help cement her reputation.