Michelle Wie: Golfing with the guys
OK. . . She’s in playing in Japan, so I guess I can finally get something that’s been bugging me for a long time off my chest. . . Michelle Wie, please stop embarrassing yourself by trying to play on the men’s tour.
Ms. Wie is playing in the Casio World Open this week and has once again fallen flat on her face with an opening round of 81, which put her in next-to-the-last 101st place. Though she has made the cut only once in the 11 men’s tournaments she has played in, Ms. Wie characteristically went into denial mode and could not bring herself to admit that a golf course set up for men is simply too much for her to handle.
“I don’t think it was pressure,” Wie said.
“My first couple of drives went left and it was tough to get my rhythm back after that.”
Despite failing to make a single birdie, Wie said she wasn’t too concerned about her game.
“I don’t think I was playing that bad,” she said. “My long game put a lot pressure on my short game. I have to get my confidence back on my drive and just hit the ball the way I always do and I’ll be fine.”
But the biggest question is why does Michelle even want to play with the big boys anyway? Are women’s courses so easy for her? Has she been dominating the women’s tour to the point that it is no longer a challenge for her?
Well, the fact of the matter is that Michelle actually has not even proven that she can play with the big girls yet. She has yet to win a single LPGA Tour event in 33 starts (nine as a professional).
Still, she insists that she has not dropped out of the hunt entirely at the Casio World Open.
Wie said she was still confident about making the cut.
“I’ve been practicing and working on my game a lot,” she said. “I still have a positive mind-set for tomorrow.”
Um. . . I hate to tell you this Michelle, but every guy out there is a professional and has been working on his game, too. And probably for a lot longer than you have.
So you want to see a load of fat guys in ill-fitting sweaters and not her?
November 24th, 2006 at 8:42 amShe’s doing it not because she thinks she can win it, but for the media exposure which leads to big endorsement dollars. Smart cookie.
November 24th, 2006 at 11:13 amBut if the only media exposure she gets is for sustained and repeated failure, what big money is going to want to endorse that?
November 24th, 2006 at 12:06 pmIt is all about the benjamins:
http://www.gikorea.net/BLOG/index.blog?entry_id=1528319
November 24th, 2006 at 1:04 pmShe did better in today’s round, shooting an 80, which puts her 17-over. . . Dead last.
I guess she didn’t hit her driver “like she always does.”
November 24th, 2006 at 3:41 pmI like her. I think it’s brave not to settle for being a big fish in a little pond, that she looses just makes more impressive in my eyes.
November 24th, 2006 at 7:27 pmWhat makes her a big fish if she’s never won?
November 24th, 2006 at 8:57 pmWalk. Then run.
November 24th, 2006 at 9:25 pmIf she was A.) 30 yrs old instead of friggin 17 B.) a man or C.) ugly
you wouldn’t be talking about her at all.
November 25th, 2006 at 2:35 amShame on you, JP, the poster of this article !
Unlike you, I admire people who try hard-to-achieve goals and who aren’t ashamed of failure.
The fact that she choose to play against men isn’t your business at all.
She enjoys it. So, what’s your problem?
November 25th, 2006 at 11:31 amIf she were 30 years old, I would still have the same opinion.
If she were a man, there would be no reason to question her playing on the men’s tour.
If she were a man and a poor golfer, she would not be playing on the men’s tour.
If she were ugly, I would still have the same opinion.
November 26th, 2006 at 1:15 amBy insisting on playing, she doesn’t exactly help the case of women who would have a shot of playing well against the men.
I mean, I guess someone has to go first. But it’d be nice if it were someone with much more talent.
And, yes, I’d say she’s doing it for the endorsements.
November 26th, 2006 at 5:16 amMarie,
Thanks for getting it.
Annika Sorenstam also teed up against the men a few years ago, but only after totally dominating the women’s tour. She surpassed Kathy Whitworth’s record of the most wins in LPGA history, she joined Mickey Wright as the only player to win more than 10 tournaments in two seasons, and she tied Nancy Lopez’s record of winning five consecutive events entered. Annika Sorenstam was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 2003. You can read more about this amazing woman’s accomplishments here.
Michelle Wie, on the other hand, has accomplished exactly nothing yet, save for qualifying for the LPGA tour.
There would be nothing wrong with Ms. Wie or any other woman golfer playing in men’s events if they qualified in some way - either under the same qualification rules as the men or even under separate rules for women playing on the LPGA tour.
As it is, Ms. Wie is able to play in these events only because of sponsor exemptions. . . A kind of affirmative action for professional golfers.
November 26th, 2006 at 11:44 amif we’re supposed to stop criticism of anyone who “enjoys it” this world is become something really weird.
November 26th, 2006 at 2:32 pmThis all reminds me of Anna Kournikova - tons of attention and endorsements prior to any success. And the success? Never came.
November 26th, 2006 at 2:54 pmI hope this young lady, for her sake, doesn’t fade as quickly.
And it happened in sumo as well.
Remember Grand Champion Futahaguro (Koji Kitao)?
A physically large man, he was touted from the very beginning as one destined to become a great yokozuna. He had so much promise that the Sumo Association ended up promoting him to Grand Champion before he had won a single top division tournament.
The result?
He lasted only eight tournaments after being promoted.
He is the only yokozuna never to have won a tournament.
He became the first yokozuna ever to have been expelled from the Sumo Association.
Koji Kitao is probably the main reason the Sumo Association has made it so difficult for a wrestler to be promoted to its highest rank.
November 26th, 2006 at 3:40 pmI’m not sure why her finishing last or her not making the cut in her PGA events is a matter of shame. She’s never going to win a PGA event but I doubt any woman will even manage to be in the top 10, at least not any time in the foreseeable future (no offense, but if you know anything about golf you know this is true). Annika is obviously the best female golfer in the world and she failed to even make the cut at the Colonial- and this too was under the “affirmative action” policy of sponsored exemptions. Not to mention Sophie Gustafson, Ai Miyazato, and Laura Davies; all of whom have all tried to compete in men’s events but have also failed to make the cut.
November 30th, 2006 at 7:02 pmBut I do agree though that she should just put up or shut up though and get some wins under her belt if she wants to be regarded as a serious player. Only time will tell if she’s really got all this untapped “potential” people are always talking about (people who might have a vested intersted in bringing exposure to the sport).
I will say that her approach has been paying off though, at least in the short-term. Supposedly she made 20 million dollars this past year- 16 of which was in commercial deals and sponsors.
[...] I have been really critical of Michelle Wie in the past (here and here), I must admit that I ended feeling pretty sorry for the young girl after her most recent [...]
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:04 pm