And away Wie goes...
Still winless against the women, Michelle Wie announced this week that she would be teeing it up against the men again at next week's Legends Reno-Tahoe Open. As if her previous failures on the PGA Tour weren't enough, here are 10 more reasons why Wie should rethink her plans:
1. Sometimes the last thing you want to do is break down barriers: Today you’re teeing it up against the men, the next thing you know Brittney Griner is dunking on your boyfriend.
2. With all of the DQs, MCs and WDs she's collected in the past, Wie's claim to fame on the LPGA Tour may be "biggest alphabet player"… but there's no competing with the PGA Tour's best.
3. Wrist injuries are piling up on Tour, and Wie has already battled similar problems in the past. She's likely to be at particular risk in PGA Tour events, where deep rough has spelled trouble for even Phil Mickelson's... robust frame.
4. The legs that make up most of Wie's 6'1" are wasted in the long pants she has to wear in men's tournaments. This may be for the best, however, as a change in dress code could lead to more of this.
5. While it would be great to get her name on a PGA Tour title, she might want to consider getting her name on this list first.
6. Money: Endorsements not withstanding, to make the big bucks you’ve got to make the cut. Finishing 139th isn’t gonna help pay for that sweet vintage hoodie at the bookstore.
7. Is Michelle really ready to have Boo Weekley constantly asking her father, B.J., "Where's the Bear?"
8. If you really think you can play with the big boys, sponsors' exemptions aren't going to earn you street cred on Tour. You’ve already spent a year at Stanford. Maybe it's time you tried a different kind of school.
9. There’s no crying on the PGA Tour…okay, maybe if you have a really tough loss… or maybe if you have a really emotional win ...or maybe when you really need your mommy.
10. Unfortunately, at PGA Tour venues, the ladies tees are reserved for ladies.
Posted by: fda | Jul 29, 2008 5:18:50 PM
baj:
be real--you know what a PGA tour "b"team event is, and it isn't a reference to an event "below michelle wie's level",as you put it--who made you an expert on the facts? you sound like the kid who's worried that an 18 year old girl is going to steal your lunch, when you'd rather have the 18 year old bully, who usually takes your lunch from you, instead.
michelle wie could make a consistent living on the ladies european tour, and many other tour events around the world, without becoming an LPGA member. it's obvious that she has more talent than most of the LPGA players, and if you can't see that, then you don't know the facts. the LPGA has limited her to several events, so if the pga tour extends an invitation, why shouldn't she take it? and WHY should you give a s%$t?
Posted by: Joe Sixpack | Jul 23, 2008 4:17:49 PM
Why did everyone think Wie was going to be good anyway? She has never won anything and is totally awful. She isn't even hot. I'm sticking with Anna Kornakova for my current female sports star.
Posted by: Baj | Jul 23, 2008 2:24:40 PM
CQinFL, I agree. Everybody feels sorry for her because she gets bashed on blogs like this. Well...that's what happens when you're famous and you act like an idiot. She shouldn't worry too much about the criticism though, in a year or two she will be completely forgotten.
Posted by: CQinFL | Jul 23, 2008 1:58:19 PM
Listen, the bottom line is this. Wie is a Joke, she's not a phenom, she's not worth a fraction of her endorsment deals, she's a winless joke on the LPGA, she's a spoiled brat who thinks she is deserving of some respect and or entitlement when in reality she's a loser and a quiter and a whiner and a sub par pro golfer. step up and win some tourney's have a little respect for the other true champions on the LPGA and then maybe, just maybe she would find some support, she's a prima donna who probably has a tough time breaking par at Putt-Putt.
Posted by: Baj | Jul 23, 2008 12:34:36 PM
Obi
You hit the nail right on the head. But I'm not sure if 'greedy' is really fair to the event holders. Extending an invitation to Wie is exactly what they get paid for. Their job is to make the event a success through promotion, marketing etc., and getting headlines with the ever controversial Wie sponsor exemption is probably the best way to do it. My criticism is not to the promoters, but to Wie herself. She is punishing herself and her fans by participating in an event that way above her current ability level. And critics need to stop blaming her father, managers, agents and others around her. Wie is 18, an adult, and perfectly capable of making her own decisions.
Posted by: obi | Jul 23, 2008 12:15:11 PM
Guys, a big part of this crap is those greedy events holder who wants Wie to boost their gate. what a waste.
Posted by: Joe Sixpack | Jul 23, 2008 11:55:46 AM
Not funny? This was a laugh riot. Girls playing golf with men...how zany and outright hilarious can you possibly get?!?
Posted by: Baj | Jul 23, 2008 10:43:01 AM
Hey spell guy:
Thank you for correcting my mistake. I returned last year from Japan after having spent 15 years there. That is of course no excuse for the typo, but I speak, read and write Japanese in addition to my pathetic English skills. How many languages to you speak?
Posted by: Bob | Jul 23, 2008 5:00:58 AM
Wow. Not too funny; just sad. Wie is quickly becoming just a footnote in Golf. And in reference to Greg S's comments, I believe he meant to say: You're (or You are) on a golfing website (not your). And you spelled (not spell) golfers, golphers. And that's pathetic...(not thats pathetic).
Posted by: palminster | Jul 23, 2008 4:54:09 AM
Oh, no! It looks as if Santa Claus is raining down destructive fireworks instead of his toys early in July when Wie plays against the men again prematurely without considering her last week's scorecard fiasco. We viewers gave her plenty of chances, but I think she should refresh her thoughts on the consequences she incurred for the past 2 seasons, missing cuts in almost all of the PGA Tour events until making one in S. Korea. She should take things easily & should stand up on her own 2 feet over her parents' decisions, regardless of saying she brings up those choices. She has one bullet left in her sponsor's exemption before ending in the dreaded Q-school or demoting herself in the Futures Tour for the matter on hand.
Posted by: Satch | Jul 23, 2008 4:00:18 AM
Maybe I should give you '10 Reasons' why not a single word of that was funny?
Posted by: Greg S. | Jul 23, 2008 1:58:06 AM
I really like Michelle Wie. It is sad, however, to see what is happening to her in my opinion. I go back to Tiger's comments a few years ago when he said Michelle really needs to learn how to win at a higher level before doing these kinds of things. Honestly folks, Michelle is probably going to finish dead last. I won't be cheering. I will be saddened that she is taking this type of approach with her career.
Posted by: spell guy | Jul 23, 2008 12:41:50 AM
hey baj
learn how to spell. your on a golfing website and you spell golfers, golphers. thats pathetic. i never did like michelle wie but at least she got a decent education.
Posted by: uug | Jul 22, 2008 11:43:17 PM
BIg mistake, stupid moved and it's a joke! She and Team Wie can't do nothing right! Now she have more DQs MCs, WDs! Zero wins! She is more of drama queen than a golfer. Not even a good golfer. Look at all the 18 year old winners..Morgan Pressel, Yani Tseng, et al. Wiezippp!
Posted by: Michael | Jul 22, 2008 11:40:27 PM
I think most of the negative comments about Wie are related to personalities of people who enjoy cars crashing during the indy 500 race. I would rather see Wie develop into one of the greatest world class female golfers; than watch her burn out before her twentieth b-day. Give her a break man!
Posted by: Ray Libby | Jul 22, 2008 11:16:27 PM
This was just ridiculous and unfunny.
Posted by: Michael G. Zalopany | Jul 22, 2008 11:00:53 PM
Michelle is on her way back to success. You forget she is only 18 years old and gaining a great deal of experience. She is not afraid to fail and that is what will make her great.
Posted by: Jewel | Jul 22, 2008 9:36:58 PM
Poor Michelle. Her father has made her a monster. The DQ this last week is yet another very important event that shows she has a long way to grow before she can run with the big dogs....
It will be a very long time before we see a win or even a top 3 finish for Michelle Wie. She just has too much mental work to do... break down the old and fortify solid mental golf before she can pull off a win.
Her father has really blown a significant period for the development of her talent....
Posted by: Dean | Jul 22, 2008 9:32:35 PM
Her father and team have done a marvelous job of totally mis-managing her career and this is just one more example. Last week was the first time she's been credible at a tourney in a long time, and instead of building on that, practicing, and focusing on winning, she's content to be a sideshow act at a second tier mens tournament. If you want to be credible Michelle, learn how to be a winner. She's rapidly on her way to becoming the Anna Kournakova of golf. All flash and no substance.
Posted by: Baj | Jul 22, 2008 7:09:06 PM
One more thing for fda:
You refer to the Reno-Tahoe Open as a "b team event." So...what exactly are you trying to say? The obvious implication by a statement like that is that this event is in some way below Michelle Wie's level. First of all, only a handful of Tour players will be at the WGC this week, which means that there will be plenty of players from the top 100 at the Reno-Tahoe Open. Second, even if this was as you say a "b-team event" it would still be way out of Wie's league. She's not even a "b" level player on the LPGA Tour. Actually, since she has no exempt status on the LPGA Tour, she's not a player at all.
Posted by: Baj | Jul 22, 2008 6:12:52 PM
fda:
Wie won't need the LPGA? She'll win men's golf tournaments around the world? You must live in the same dream world she does. My commnents are based on facts. Yours are based on what you want or hope will happen. Its people like you that hurt Michelle the most. What she needs is people advising her against the PGA Tour stunts, not people encouraging her to do something she is simply not capable of.
Posted by: mel | Jul 22, 2008 6:02:49 PM
With all due repsect, Michelle and her gang of thieves should simply disappear until she gets a game that will allow her to compete on the LPGA.
Posted by: Baj | Jul 22, 2008 5:54:10 PM
Christopher,
So are you saying that the only golphers that are as good or better than Michelle Wie are the men on the PGA Tour? Stop smoking crack. It's not good for you. The only thing we know for sure about Wie's ability is that she can't compete at either the LPGA or PGA levels. Could she compete at the college level or some other junior level? Maybe, but it seems she wants to just skip all that and go right to the PGA Tour.
Posted by: Mitchell M | Jul 22, 2008 3:15:00 PM
"Or do you think it would be smarter to try and play on the Futures tour or some minor league tour?"
Um...yes.
Posted by: Steve | Jul 22, 2008 3:07:33 PM
Overbearing parents? Are you kidding me? With the endorsement contracts and her management team solidly in place, her parents now have little play on her decisions. Frankly, Michelle has some seriously unreasonable expectations that her game, both mentally and physically, can compete with men on the PGA Tour. As many have stated before me, she needs to prove she can win on the LPGA Tour and from time to time, experiment on the men's tour when it’s appropriate. I've always liked Michelle, however at this point, I've grown weary of her poor decision making skills and she needs to put her professional career into prospective. The men of the PGA Tour shouldn't be part of that prospective. Ask Annika!