I'm pretty sure we can't blame Bo Wie for this, but that's surely no consolation to his daughter, Michelle. After almost two years of uninspired golf, Wie, now a 19-year-old Stanford student trying to earn her LPGA Tour card, put together two of her best rounds in recent memory. Heading into the weekend, she was in second place at the State Farm Classic. That lasted about two minutes. For someone trying to avoid Q-School, every tournament takes on added importance, which is why it's generally a bad idea to not sign your scorecard before leaving the scoring area. Especially when only one player stands between you the top of the leaderboard.
"I don't know why or how it happened," said Wie, who had been crying moments earlier. ...The State Farm only featured two of the top 10 money winners, and the wide-open fairways were well-suited to Wie's long game. And through two rounds, it all seemed to be coming together. But for some inexplicable reason, Wie forgot to sign her scorecard and the 67-65 start were two fabulous efforts now wasted.
And with that, Wie was gone from a tournament where either the $255,000 winner's purse or the $155,252 second prize would have put her comfortably within the top 80 money winners for the year - and virtually guaranteed her a place on the LPGA Tour next year.
I suppose there's an argument that golf's rules are unnecessarily penal, but it's hard to make the case that Wie isn't completely responsible for what happened here. On the upside, Wie is playing well, which is something she hasn't been able to say in some time.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-20-2008 @ 11:59AM
Anne Probett said...
The person they hand their card in to should absolutely see if it is signed - IF NOT WHAT IS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE PLAYER?? THAT IS A RIDICULOUS RULE. THE GOLFER SHOULD NOT BE DISQUALIFIED AFTER PLAYING HER HEART OUT AND ACHIEVING 2ND PLACE - HOW
HAPPY SHE MUST HAVE BEEN AND THEN TEARS - FOR WHAT?? STUPID!!!
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7-20-2008 @ 2:06PM
Billy Slye said...
Since the mistake of leaving the scoring area was not reported and recognized until after Wie had already begun her next round, I feel that she should not have been penalized. That was the scoring official's mistake. I also thought it was very unprofessional for Sue Witters to make the comment about Wie acting like a kid who had just learned that there was no Santa Clause. That certainly didn't help matters as to the way Wie must have felt about her goof. Shame on Witters!
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7-20-2008 @ 10:02PM
Colonial said...
What is the purpose of this rule? I'm not a golf fan but it seriously seems ridiculous that someone could be disqualified for a mistake that has more to do with the skill as a clerk than their skill as a golfer.
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7-21-2008 @ 9:27AM
gator said...
Even if there seems to be no purpose to the rule, it is still a rule. If this so called phenom doesn't know this maybe golf isn't her game. Should golf do like the rest of the country and reward people for breaking the rules. I don't think so. I commend golf for being a rigid sport. Like the ad says if you want to play the game you should know the rules
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7-24-2008 @ 1:20AM
felino alega said...
yeah, i concur with anne probett... also that old rotten rule (disqualification from the tournament or game) because of not having been able to sign your card at the end of the day is out of this world and should be abolished for the simple reason that it is inhuman. what else are the use of those people receiving those scorecards... what are they there for, huh? if it were a box where players just drop their scores at the end of their round, yes... players are responsible of their scores signed but hey ...there are people receiving these scores!!!
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7-26-2008 @ 11:02PM
tricia said...
Michele Wie has made some mistakes as we know but she is young and will learn from her mistakes.
She has talent and with the correct guidance will be fine.
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