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I don't think it is time to panic because this has been the Wie's plan from the get go. Create a back story about a little girl wanting to play in the PGA. The media has fallen for the hype. After her stellar round on Thursday I turn on the golf channel and they are devoting an entire segment to what went wrong with Wie's round.

I will flat out tell you what went wrong. She didn't belong there. Plain and simple. I don't understand why grown people fawn over a 16 year old girl that gives an interview about like a waterhead would. Yeah she drives the ball far, but she is over 6' tall. The circus has came to town and left folks.

Todd

Panic? She just shot a 68 on a tough PGA course in difficult conditions. Only 11 of the men beat her. I think she just proved that she CAN play on the PGA tour.

She will do very well on the LPGA and win numerous tournaments. But, the unique thing about her is that (unlike ANY other LPGA player) Wie is capable of playing the much longer courses of the PGA.

If I were her, I'd focus on the LPGA, win a few tourneys to get that monkey off my back, and THEN start playing PGA events on occasion.

Dave

She doesn't belong there

I can't even remember how many times I've read this lately. I understand it's just an opinion, but sheesh. The only ones who can actually say where she "belongs" are her, her sponsors and the PGA tour.

Just imagine if anyone of us had just shot a 68 on a day like that on that course in the heat of a PGA tourney with the whole world watching? If I had overcome all of that and shot a 68, I guarantee that I'd be pretty sure that I had the potential to play on the PGA.

She certainly has the potential, but she's only 16 and with all this pressure I think she may continue to struggle to make cuts. But, she's very, very close.

Dave

Originally Posted by leaguegolf
Just a thought.......When did the PGA Tour turn into a training ground for those not yet qualified to play there?


Through the years many so-called "unqualified" individuals have been given the opportunity to play on the PGA Tour via sponsor exemptions for many different reasons (fan interest/perceived up and comer/local dude/connected, etc.). These invites haven't met the criticism that Wie's has because, quite frankly, they weren't shed the light of day (no publicity). And though we always knew they existed, it never seemed to bother anyone in the LEAST, hence no outrage/debate over the merits of a 16 year old Tiger Woods or a local celibrity like Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien being invited to a tournament and shooting worse than Michelle Wie has. Similarly there was NEVER EVER ANY pining for the fringe players PGA Tour players before Michelle Wie came along. In this area (D.C.) I don't recall anyone wailing because Mark Rypien received an exemption to the Kemper Open and Webb Heintzleman (fringe tour player who never made it) didn't. FYI: Heintzleman was a Maryland local boy with "all of the talent in the world," and Fred Funk was the U of MD range rat who had no talent.

So Michelle's detractors are either:

1. Jealous of the publicity she COMMANDS and the interest she generates

2. Don't like women playing on the PGA Tour because of their gender

Either way, by participating in discussions about this subject in forums such as this, you are part of your own perceived problem.

There is no young player, that you can say, they will definetely compete at the very top.
Most of us would be delighted if she were able to achieve a pga tour card.
Many pros play golf, and don't stop just because they aren't as good as Tiger, Phil, Vijay and Ernie. In my opinion, she shouldn't stop trying either.

If Michelle Wie doesn't win over her mental demons, then people won't care. I expect Sony to give her a sponsor's exemption 1 (maybe) 2 more times unless she wins an LPGA event or makes a cut. An 18 year old woman competing against men doesn't have the same novelty as a 16 year old.

She has the talent, but she is not mentally ready to compete. Every time she has a chance of making the cut, she folds. When she shot a 68, her brillant play was when she figured she had no chance of making the cut.

she just needs to relax and take it as it bounces....no pressure. just swing the club like she was taught and make pars....the birdies will come and the bogies will be less.

I think this is a narrow view of things. Aside from the 71-68 (I think it was) to miss the cut by a stroke that one year, she has had great difficulty playing when the pressure is on and some ease when there's no pressure on. I think this is the distinction to be seen in her 79 and her 68 this year - one round there was a lot of pressure, another round there was none.

I wouldn't call myself a Michelle detractor per se, but I can understand a lot of the con (and pro, mainly from a tournament/sponsor's point of view) of the Michelle Wie argument.

Also, one day there was dreadful conditions and the next they were okay.

The conditions were the same for everyone.....weren't they?

Spin it however you like but don't discount the weather conditions. Like most young/inexperienced professional golfers Wie has not fared well when the wind has blown excessively as the following demonstrates:

2004 she shoots +2, -2 = Even.... Cut line: -1. Wind not a factor.
2005 she shoots +5, +4 = +9...... Cut line: +2 Windy Thurs & Friday
2006 she shoots +9, -2 = +7...... Cut Line: +3 Brutal Winds Thursday, moderate winds Friday.

While brisk winds have had a moderate cause and effect on the cut line, they have a dramatic cause and effect on Wie at this point in her progression. That is not to say she's immune to pressure, especially when she's close to the cut line but I'm sure she's not the first and won't be the last one whose "head gets in the way" when they're close to a hurdle. Yes, her goal RIGHT NOW is to make a cut just like every other young golfer who had trouble making cuts initially:

Tiger Woods: +5(MC), +10(MC), +6(MC), +9(MC), +13(MC), +3(MC), +5(MC)

Tom Lehman: +9(MC), +3(MC), +2(MC), +7(MC)

Loren Roberts: +18(MC), +4(MC), +10(MC), +7(MC), +7(MC), +1(MC), (MC) +2

Cumulative to par through each of their first four attempts:

Michelle: +15
Tiger: +30
Lehman: +21
Roberts: +39
Toms: +17
Andrade: +24
J.L. Lewis: +34

I definitely agree about the "pros" for the sponsors because aside from maybe Annika Sorenstam and Babe Didrickson, Michelle Wie has been and probably will continue to be the best in terms of generating interest and revenue. That said, I think a brash personality such as THE BABE's would be a bigger draw today than either Michelle or Annika. Think Bobby Riggs in a dress (sorry for that). Babe was known to declare to her opponents, "Okay, Babe's here! Now who's gonna finish second?" Funny stuff... Larry Bird used to say the same thing before the 3 point contest at the NBA All-Star game.

With regard to actual tournament performance/results vs. other sponsor exemptions, I'd guess she's about middle of the road.

As to her potential future on the PGA Tour, it depends on her desire/commitment to play there. She'll need to pound a lot of range balls and be able to physically handle it. If she's really serious about it, she'll not only need to take exemptions on the PGA Tour but also take some on the Nationwide tour, attempt to Monday qualify for individual PGA events and of course go to Q-School. Playing mostly LPGA course set ups isn't going to prepare her. If she's indeed serious about it, the following schedule would help:

5 PGA TOUR Sponsor Exemptions
5 Nationwide Sponsor Exemptions
4 LPGA Majors
2 PGA TOUR event Monday qualifiers
PGA TOUR Q-School

A schedule like that would provide her with experience and give her a barometer of her progression. That's 17 weeks of professional competitions. Maybe she'll pursue a schedule like that after College, assuming the opportunities (exemption offers) are still there.

Yes but he was saying that she shot a bad score due to pressure, and a good score due to no pressure.
I am saying the conditions also affected her score.

Hey, we agree on a Wie something! .....

A quick check of the scorecards show that she has been seriously in the hunt to make the cut coming down the stretch twice out of 4 PGA Tour events, and once in a Japanese event.

- At the 2004 Sony she finished very strongly (birdie-par-birdie) to miss the cut by one stroke

- At the 2005 John Deere she finished poorly (Double Bogey-Bogey-Par-Par) to miss the cut by one stroke.

- At the 2005 Casio World Open in Japan she finished Bogey-Bogey to miss the cut by one stroke.....

URPed in two of her last three for sure..... and those are the facts, Jack.