Michelle Wie 24/7

[Game Face]

The road back for Wie
By Steve Eubanks

Wednesday, Jan 9, 2008 1:25 pm EST


One of the most interesting subplots, of course, from the Sony Open this week is the player who is not in the field. On Thursday morning, Michelle Wie will be in class at Stanford instead of on the first tee at Waialae Country Club.

Thank goodness. I don't want to say I told you so....okay, I will say it, and I will say it loudly. Two years ago, I was one of the voices yelling, (sorry, Roger, I don't have it on tape) "No! She's a child! You don't put $10 million-worth of pressure on a child!" Since then, a lot of people have joined the chorus.

No doubt the road back for Wie will be tougher, maybe even tougher than the one for Fred Thompson (sorry, I had to inject some presidential politics in here). Anyway, Gary Gilchrist, the coach responsible for Wie becoming the best 13-year-old in history and who is currently working with Suzann Pettersen, refers to how the former phenom has been practicing. "I think she's becoming far too technical, and as she's struggled, even more so," Gilchrist suggests. "Instead of trusting your natural ability and your feel for the game you are getting overloaded with more and more technical things."

Gilchrist believes some radical changes need to take place. "They need to have a team that's simple and a team that's having fun," he said. "I don't think anybody in the Wie camp is having fun right now. "If I were B.J. (Wie) I'd call Tiger and ask if they could come to Isleworth and practice with him one day, just see what he does and how he trains and prepares. They need to get some advice from somebody who knows what they're doing, somebody who will say, ‘This is what I do when I'm getting ready to play and what I do when I feel I'm struggling a bit.' "

[tour_insider]

Originally Posted by Game Face

Gary Gilchrist, the coach responsible for Wie becoming the best 13-year-old in history and who is currently working with Suzann Pettersen, refers to how the former phenom has been practicing. "I think she's becoming far too technical, and as she's struggled, even more so," Gilchrist suggests. "Instead of trusting your natural ability and your feel for the game you are getting overloaded with more and more technical things."

I couldn't agree more, which is why I've never cared for Leadbetter. If you've got a 13 year old shooting 68 on PGA Tour set up, as a coach all you need to say is, "Keep it up, kiddo."

[Wildbore]

I wish I would have gotten better marks during my undergraduate studies, I would definitely do a Masters at Stanford just for the chance to meet Wie. My GPA is not high enough for Stanford unfortunately, and my dad didn't go there.

[Game Face]

Originally Posted by Wildbore

I wish I would have gotten better marks during my undergraduate studies, I would definitely do a Masters at Stanford just for the chance to meet Wie. My GPA is not high enough for Stanford unfortunately, and my dad didn't go there.

WildDude, just come down here on vacation...

Stanford has no locked fences or gates to pass thru.

Stanford's driving range is public ... or ...

Just wait for her at the Stanford Mall next door!

Like, umm shar she'll be thar!

[Game Face]

This is too funny!

________________________________________


Crystal Ball
By Rich Tosches

Monday, Feb 18, 2008 3:36 pm EST
October 10, 2065

One day before her 76th birthday, golfer Michelle Wie, whose six-decade professional career hasn't quite lived up to its promise, withdrew from the Super-Senior LPGA Tour's most prestigious event of the year – the Peaceful Gardens Assisted Living Center Open – telling tournament officials she had "tweaked her hip."

The end came on the 12th hole of the second round, with Wie trailing the leader by 114 strokes. Spectators said the one-time wonder child had just 12-putted, and when the ball finally found the hole Wie glanced at the scoreboard, looked around nervously, began to limp and started wailing, "Ooohhh boy, guess I won't be able to finish."

On a more positive note, Wie later told reporters: "My wrists feel fine."

The mysterious hip injury is the latest in a string of unfortunate ailments dating back to the year 2006, when Wie became known for pulling out of tournaments in which she trailed badly, citing, among other reasons: sore wrists, heat exhaustion, a funny feeling, a tingling sensation, a sense that someone was standing behind her, an itchy scalp, a feeling she just couldn't explain, a weird premonition, imaginary barking dogs, excessive blinking, the belief that her thumbs were about to fall off and, later in her career, unsightly loose skin around her knees.

The once-popular Wie saw her fan base began to erode somewhat following an incident midway through the 2009 LPGA Championship – she withdrew during the second round while trailing by 265 strokes – when she claimed she was attacked by wolves on the 16th hole.

At the start, though, there was great promise.

"She's better than Tiger Woods was when he was 16," PGA golfer Joe Oglivie said shortly after she became a pro. "I played with Tiger and he wasn't this good. "

Woods went on to win 1,899 PGA tournaments, including 903 majors. By comparison, Wie didn't win any tournaments. Although she came very close in the 2027 Sri Lankan Miniature Golf Championship, losing by a stroke when her final putt "lipped out." (It struck the lip of the giant wooden sea bass on No. 18, careening wildly past the thatched hut on No. 17 and disappearing into the moat on No. 14.)

Early in her career, Wie even took on Woods and the rest of the best male golfers in the world, accepting sponsor's exemptions to play in PGA events. So brilliant was her game during the early years of the 21st century that Wie was often mentioned in the same sentence as such PGA greats as Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh. An example would be: "Woods, Mickelson and Singh were tied for the lead after shooting rounds of 68 and were slightly ahead of Michelle Wie, who shot a 131."

Despite her struggles, Wie was given multi-million-dollar endorsement contracts by sponsors such as Sony and Nike, both of whom later scrapped their longtime corporate mottos and shared a brand new motto: "What the Heck Were We Thinking?"

Way back in the year 2007 she earned just $23,024 on the course but was paid $12.5 million in endorsements that year according to Golf Digest magazine. (Footnote: This month's Golf Digest cover story features Tiger Woods' grandson, 9-year-old Sven Woods, and the 1,700-yard drive he hit last week in the U.S. Amateur.)

Nike, by the way, introduced a full line of her signature golf clothing in 2007, including slacks that had an inseam measurement of a ridiculous 150 inches. Fashion industry sources say the mistake on the Michelle Wie Golf Pants collection happened because even the seamstress missed the cut.

Rich Tosches has written for the Los Angeles Times and the Denver Post.

[gocubs]

That's mean. If I wasn't laughing so hard I'd tell you how mean it was.

[Darth Fader]

Funny and accurate (probably)

[Leaguegolf]

Fictional accounts aside, its time to get back to the business of golf for Michelle Wie. GRW's biggest Wie fan tells me that Michelle is confident and ready to play this week when she makes her 2008 LPGA debut in the Field's Open in Hawaii. It's been a long year for Wie and hopefully she's put all the negative things behind her and can play the kind of golf many predicted she would play. 2007 is history, Wie is no longer the young phenom, and she has a lot to prove. Let the games begin...........

[rodney_c]

Michelle has put a lot of work into her swing. She hasn't been hampered by injury no matter how often or how long she has practiced, which is the first time that can be said going into a tournament for a long time.
It's time for her to start hitting it well again. She doesn't have any excuses this time.

[Texas Wedge]

I actually expect her to have a MUCH better year this year than last. I don't know if she'll quite manage the kind of year she had in '06, but it will be exemplary compared to last year. Also, as an aside...I hope that she doesn't let a little success change her mind any time soon about competing against the men. IMO, she needs to give that another 5 years of experience against the women and then if she feels her game is up to it, try it one time if she can get the invitation. Why 5 years? Just an arbitrary number. Really, I just want to see her get several good years of experience and playing well against the women before she does some serious damage to her mental state in golf again. I think she has taken quite a beating, mentally, in the last 14-16 months. She needs to get past all of that and gain the confidence she had a few years ago...IMO.

I admit, I'm curious to see how the "well-rested and healed" Ms. Wie performs this week.

[Bolt Fore]

That was a funny article by Rick Tosches except the age part. I played some of the best golf of my career in my early seventies including three consecutive club championships.

[Wazmankg]

Originally Posted by Texas Wedge

I actually expect her to have a MUCH better year this year than last.

That's a pretty low standard. I think if she doesn't and remains injury-free, she should start considering another line of work. I'll be watching and rooting for her... FWIW.

[Putton]

Originally Posted by Texas Wedge

I actually expect her to have a MUCH better year this year than last.

Can't get much worse than last year

[Bigvivec]

There is nothing in her recent performances over the last 12 months that would suggest that she ought to be taken for real...let's start by making a few cuts, and then we can talk about her having a "great" year...

[sam]

I thought some of you people might be interested in her pre-tournament interview:
Michelle Wie Fields Open 2008 Interviews

[Dormie]

Originally Posted by rodney_c

Michelle has put a lot of work into her swing. She hasn't been hampered by injury no matter how often or how long she has practiced, which is the first time that can be said going into a tournament for a long time.
It's time for her to start hitting it well again. She doesn't have any excuses this time.

Not so fast...

She's left the door plenty-open for excuses...

ESPN - Wie confident but says injured wrists will never be the same - Golf

[3puttguy]

Originally Posted by Dormie

Not so fast...

She's left the door plenty-open for excuses...

ESPN - Wie confident but says injured wrists will never be the same - Golf

I thought the same thing.

Hip hop dance classes at Stanford .

I am curious to see how she does this year.

[Texas Wedge]

Originally Posted by Dormie

Not so fast...

She's left the door plenty-open for excuses...

ESPN - Wie confident but says injured wrists will never be the same - Golf

As if that's not bad enough...

Wie hasn't completed her schedule yet and wouldn't rule out playing against the men.

I thought we were told she would NOT be playing against the men this year. Weren't we?

[rodney_c]

She shot 69, her first round in the sixties since before both of her injuries, to be at two shots off the lead. Not a bad day at the office.

[Leaguegolf]

It's much too early to tell but if today's 69 was any indication, Wie looks to be on the right track. That's the best news Wie fans have had in a long, long, time.

[Wazmankg]

She was all over the place yesterday. 6 birds, 3 bogies & 9 pars. 9 GIR, but only 23 putts. Her driving avg. was 293.5. That's a huge rebound from where she was when she last played. It's certainly a step in the right direction... her first in quite awhile.

[Dormie]

Right, even though the 69 may have been a so-so round, the good news is that a 69 is out there and can be done. We had a stretch last year where we were wondering if she could ever break 80 again.