Earlier this week, Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer, two of the LPGA's best players, questioned Michelle Wie's decision to tee it up at the Reno-Tahoe Open, a PGA Tour event starting ... now. At this point, we've all heard the complaints: hey, how about winning on the women's tour first? Why is your dad ruining your life? How can you stand to take a spot in the field from someone truly deserving? So on and so forth.
Well, Wie can't answer all her critics -- she'd have to completely give up golf and drop out of school to do that -- but she did respond to the most recent round of disparagements.
"There are going to be criticisms entering this tournament, but at the same time I'm just doing what I feel like I want to do and it's going to be a lot of fun," Wie said.
Well, that does sound like something a teenager might say. Whatever, David Leadbetter, swing coach to the stars, is still concerned.
"It's a shock to me and to her agents that this is happening," said Leadbetter, who has worked with the teenager for five years. "I don't think the family has made the right choice. There's definitely more to lose than to gain." ...Sadly, that sounds about right. But until Wie is no longer able to draw a crowd, she'll continue to get sponsor's invites, and we'll continue to have this conversation. Awesome.
"I can see, now, what's going to happen this week," Leadbetter continued. "She will start swinging out of her shoes as she tries to keep up and that's when things can go wrong technically. She may just become the first woman to make a cut since Babe Zaharias - but at what price."
By the way, Wie tees off at 1:55 PM EST today, which, most likely, puts her roughly 24 hours away from missing the cut.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-31-2008 @ 3:42PM
GUgalino said...
She is just 18 years old. Her priority right now is full time student at Stanford. Golf to her right now until she finished college is part time. Which means that she wants to play where she can learn and have a nice time playing. She have a ton of money to support her until she finish college. Why is everyone in a hurry to see her win now on the LPGA. The past winner of Evian is 43 years old. So she have plenty of time to win. So just leave her alone. I think she is not a member of the LPGA right now so why cant she do what she wants to do.
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7-31-2008 @ 5:01PM
Matt said...
GUgalino knows more than David Ledbetter? Good bid GU.
She FEELS LIKE playing in this event. I FEEL LIKE her idiot parents are to blame, which I FEEL LIKE will lead to her being an idiot if she isn't already.
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7-31-2008 @ 5:54PM
LB said...
Michelle can do what she wants. It seems more people are worried about her than the whole women's tour.
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7-31-2008 @ 6:48PM
Skippy said...
It's golf! Who cares? They should make her play in a bikini, though.
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7-31-2008 @ 9:17PM
Martin said...
Wie has made a decision that she wants to play against the best, rather than play in the women's tournaments. If you want to blame somebody, blame the sponsers that give her the exemption. But when she's given the chance to play against the best and opts to do just that, why criticize that spirit. She has no obligation to please anyone but herself. And from a financial standpoint, her decisions seem to be working.
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8-01-2008 @ 12:02PM
C ROZZ said...
Maybe she should try being the best woman instead of being below average on the mens tour. Playing with men will not make her any better than she is now. She should play in the womens tournaments that she at least has a chance of winning, not in the mens tournaments where she is the laughing stock or freak show.
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8-01-2008 @ 4:57PM
marie said...
If Michelle Wie wants to play the best then she should be at Firestone playing today not Reno. Her ambition is to be the first woman since Babe to make a PGA cut. Great, she makes the cut and finishes 67th. Wow!
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8-03-2008 @ 12:30AM
George B Vieto said...
From the Manny being Manny department. Michelle Wie being Michelle Wie and playing golf in any touranament that she pleases. Give her time to winning a golf touranment. Rome was not built in a day neither was ESPN's silly This Is Sportcenter commercials.
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8-04-2008 @ 12:14AM
JC said...
YOU PEOPLE WHO THINK OH WELL SHES YOUNG AND HAS PLENTY OF TIME BLAH BLAH BLAH....YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT GOLF IS A BUSINESS,SHES GOT TO BE MARKETABLE TO MAKE THE BIG BUCKS.
YOU SAT SHE WANTS TO PLAY WITH THE BEST SO SHE GOES TO THE PGA LOL THATS FUNNY!
SHE CANT EVEN WIN OR EVEN COME CLOSE TO WINNING ON THE NON-PENIS TOUR SHE SHOULD EARN A SPOT ANYWHERE SHE WANTS TO "TRY" TO PLAY.
THE "KID PHENOM" LABEL IS ABOUT WORN OFF SO SHE BETTER START WINNING OR AT LEAST BE PLAYING ON THE WEEKENDS ON NETWORK TV OR NIKE IS GONNA DROP HER LIKE A HOT TATER!!
THEN WHERES HER MONEY GONNA COME FROM? YOU DONT EARN A PENNY ON ANY TOR UNLESS YOU MAKE THE CUT!!! E.O.M.
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