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Look at the first page of the Tour Talk forum. The largest thread is titled "Michelle Wie at the Ginn..." and the second largest thread is "Who is Michelle Wie?"

I don't see a thread with Ochoa's name in the title. Phils withdrawl got 2 replies. Who won on the PGA Tour last week? Oh right, KJ Choi. No thread on that.

It's obvious, one way or another, people are obsessed over this girl.

She is tall, photogenic. Her golf swing was fluid and beautiful to watch (I hate her abbreviated swing now, fire Leadbetter). 3, or 4 years ago it seems like she has a chance to match the men on the PGA tour when she beat 50 men in a tournament. These 50 PGA players are so good that we average golfers only dream of beating them. Now, this 14 year old girl did that and it shocked us average golfers. When you think of a 14 year old girl, what do you think? An immature, physically weak, emotionally unstable, loves to shop and paints her finger nails. But Michele was different. She was really good. Tiger wasn't that good when he was 14. Don't we all love to see a girl beats PGA players? Eventhough the possibility was small, people hoped and expected her golf skills to improve as she grows older. We golfers are a very optimistic bunch, we think we can beat the person who just beat us by 5 strokes the next time we play. We extrapolated that if she is this good when she is 14, she will be on the PGA tour when she is 18. That didn't materialized, she suffers many setbacks recently. And as you know, people love success stories. But they also love to see people fail.

I certainly do, as you can tell from my comments.

Apparently no one has read my last comment under 'Who is Michelle Wie' where I said that until she actually competes on the LPGA tour she shouldn't even be a topic of conversation as a golfer in this column. Now if people want to spend the time on her it should be in general discussion or something similar.

She has potential and is unique. She has a gift.

IMO - she is being horribly mismanaged. She doesn't know the rules. She needs to play her own game not those who manage her.

She is being used as a cash cow to get back all the expense needed to train her.
The sooner she becomes her own motivator and less of a tool the better she will be. I worry about the life lessons she is learning now.

I understand she was rude or at least distant to her Pro-Am foursomes the last two times. I understand some pros are better than others are and she is still an adolescent, but if you are going to play, you must sign up for the whole program. If she continues to alienate her audience, they will turn on her or at least lose interest.

Really? I haven't seen that yet. All I've seen of her is hitting balls into the trees and whatnot. I also see her performance in LPGA events don't seem to exhibit any such uniqueness either. Maybe someday, but that day hasn't been. So I think we should turn attention to those with the gift that actually put it to good use.

I don't understand. You can say all you want about her recent performances and all of her performances against the men. She hasn't done well but she does have a lot of top 5's in numerous LPGA events including major tournaments.

I don't think I mentioned preformance or acomplishments in my post. I guess that means on the surface I agree with you.

In a subtle way I was also predicting that if she doesn't take charge of her own game you will not be alone with your opinion.
Post Script:
I was looking at the of rookies in the LPGA this year. Check out the rookie yearbook and you will see this sport is just beginning to flower. LPGA.com

She might end up like Ryan Leaf. And thats too bad for someone with so much talent.

I think her problem is her dad, Her dad is letting her be a spoiled girl and that will damage her desire.

I don't "Ever wonder why Michelle gets the attention she does". For at least a half dozen years she has proven herself to be very talented, and is unusual in many aspects (height, power, exotic looks, et al).

I do wonder why, though, why folks like Rodney (who, for whatever reason, hasn't posted since the week of the Sony Open) obssess over her like they are defending their kin.

I don't wonder why, though, why folks become haters whenever a superb athlete shows any flaws. Tiger Woods is very popular, but he has also engendered hate ever since he came on the scene. That "fan" (an abbreviation for "fanatic") element is represented in every sport, not just golf. We love to build heroes and heroines up, and delight in taking them down.

She gets attention because she deserves it.

A kid who almost made the cut at a couple of tour events, would be news. But a young girl who almost made the cut at a PGA event? That's news no matter how much you dislike show business. Granted she has not been close lately...but she is still news for having been that close.

But on that note, she needs to disappear for three or four years into college and become a grown up. The last two weeks have, rightly or wrongly, given everyone the impression that her parents are money-hungry publicity hounds who don't give a darn about her, golf, the LPGA, or anything other than themselves and their bank accounts. And the LPGA is just as ruthlessly exploititive as her parents and agent.

She's physically immature, playing hurt, wants to be a kid and go to college, and she's damaging her public image almost beyond repair.

I hope she turns out having a good golfing life, but the way she's going, it's in doubt.

cept Michelle doesn't look like a punk to me ...Ryan is and was, esp while at WSU. Seemed to blossom though while with San Diego.

That is very true and I believe it's the case here.

I suppose I could be put in a similar boat. Loved Michael Jordan when he first burst on the scene and won a championship. Then, I started to cheer for teams going against the Bulls. In baseball, I cheer against the Yankees. The difference between those who spout venom and I is that I don't have any venom.

I prefer to cheer for someone as opposed to cheer against someone.

She needs to tell her Dad to take a hike!

What would you do if your 17 year daughter tells you to take a hike?