What's in Michelle Wie's golf bag?
This week, both the PGA and LPGA tours are conducting qualifying schools. They are each five-day, While the men play 108 holes, the ladies' is a 90-hole pressure cookers that determine who will have a chance to compete on golf's biggest stages in 2009, and who will spend another season in the minor leagues.
The most-watched player at either Q-School is going to be Michelle Wie. Since she turned pro at age 15 in October 2005, she has failed to win a golf tournament, and the public's fascination with her has faded. If she finishes in the top 20 this week and gets her card, all that will change.
For a complete look at the career highs and lows of Michelle Wie, check out our new Michelle Wie special section.
From an equipment standpoint, Wie is playing with 14 Nike clubs this week. During the summer she had played with a Callaway FT fairway wood, but it has been replaced with a Nike SasQuatch II.
Also worth noting is Wie's prototype Nike putter, which appears to be the same putter Paul Casey switched to earlier this season. It is a traditional heel-toe weighted design with a plumber's neck and a series of red, elevated ridges running across the face. When I asked Nike about the putter in a meeting recently, company representatives would not comment about it.
The ridges may be designed to grip the ball and start it rolling more quickly along the ground, or they could be made from a material that enhances feel. Nike reps did say that they have no plans to release a putter to the public with this technology any time soon. For a better look at Wie's clubs, shot by SI's David Walberg this week, click on the image above
Here's a complete list of the clubs in it:
Driver: Nike SQ Sumo 5000 (7.5°)
Fairway woods: Nike SasQuatch II (15°, 19°)
Irons: Nike Victory Red TW Forged Blades (4-PW)
Wedges: Nike Victory Red (52°, 56°, 60°)
Putter: Nike prototype
Ball: Nike One Platinum
(Photos: bag, David Walberg/SI; putter, Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
More on Wie: Special Section | Life in pictures
