The problem with Michelle Wie...

**elivate** · September 7, 2006

I am not going to start bashing her, I think she is an incredible talent...

The problem is that she is being handed a lot at a very young age... but she has really not earned anything...

Heck, the PGA tour could start handing out exemptions to any old joe to create a buzz, and it would create a buzz... Imagine if they did something like what is chronicled in the new movie Invincible, allow regular joes a shot at playing in PGA events, this would create a huge buzz, it would be a marketing ploy, just the same way that inviting Michelle Wie to play is... Maybe they could allow an exemption for a Celebrity at each event, again, another marketing ploy... In this sense I think she is being used as a pawn by the PGA tournament organizers...

And now she says that men should never be allowed to play in womens events even though she feels that women should be alowed in men's events. Her argument is that the PGA tour is for the best players, not just the best men's players, and the LPGA tour is for Female players... Now, I can see some logic in that argument, but, if she is saying that the PGA tour should be open to all golfers, then she should have to qualify for the events, and all other female golfers could try to qualify as well...

I guess I am just wondering why she (and everyone else) feels that she deserves special treatment over all of the other great female players that have paid their dues and that have actually won something...

**Madriver** · September 7, 2006

I guess I am just wondering why she (and everyone else) feels that she deserves special treatment over all of the other great female players that have paid their dues and that have actually won something...

...becuase she sells tickets and generates TV ratings. As to your statement ..

Heck, the PGA tour could start handing out exemptions to any old joe to create a buzz, and it would create a buzz

don't think so. I could give a rats ass about "old joe". Michelle Wie is one of the new Young Guns that seems to transend either tour. I will tune in to any event she is entered in. Her poise, class, and game make her an event. I would be more interested in Wie entering a PGA event than say Anika. Why...because she is 16 and swings like a man. I am also the father of a 15 year old girl and find Michelle to be what most fathers of aspiring young athletes would want to emulate.

**elivate** · September 7, 2006

I am also the father of a 15 year old girl and find Michelle to be what most fathers of aspiring young athletes would want to emulate.

So wouldn't you rather to see your daughter posting solid finishes and maybe even a lot of wins aganst women?

Against men she struggles, she looks very bad at times, and it seems to be a great big circus... If she never makes another cut she will be cast aside as a loser and if she decides to play full time on the LPGA tour after she fails against the men she will look like a failure who has come crawling back... I just think that she has put herself in an impossible situation...

**Madriver** · September 7, 2006

So wouldn't you rather to see your daughter posting solid finishes and maybe even a lot of wins aganst women?

with regards to emulating Michelle. She has incredible poise. She handles the "circus" very well. Her class and demeanor on the links should be reviewd by several LPGA girls.

If she never makes another cut she will be cast aside as a loser and if she decides to play full time on the LPGA tour after she fails against the men she will look like a failure who has come crawling back.... I just think that she has put herself in an impossible situation...

I won't argure with this. I think she has the potential to fall between that "rock and a hard place". I only wish her well.

Birdiemachine22 · September 7, 2006

Nice 78 Michelle, at the Omega European Masters. Keep up the good work. She should be playing on the Ladies European Tour not the European tour. Im sure they would give her a spot. Then maybe she would have a chance to win. I can't wait to watch her struggle at the 84 Lumber. Actually I probably won't watch because she is in the field. Im Sick of her.

**Madriver** · September 7, 2006

Nice 79 Michelle, at the Omega European Masters. Keep up the good work. She should be playing on the Ladies European Tour not the European tour. Im sure they would give her a spot. Then maybe she would have a chance to win. I can't wait to watch her struggle at the 84 Lumber. Actually I probably won't watch because she is in the field. Im Sick of her.

don't forget the rest.. it's gotta suck to be last in a mens tourney when a little girl is ahead of you....

T140 SCHMID, Jann SUI 18 +5 76 76 T140 WHITELEY, Oliver * ENG 18 +5 76 76 T140 WIDMARK, Fredrik SWE 18 +5 76 76 T143 FISHER, Ross * ENG 18 +6 77 77 T143 JOHANSSON, Per-Ulrik SWE 18 +6 77 77 T143 MARTIN, Miguel Angel ESP 18 +6 77 77 T146 CLÉMENT, Julien * SUI 18 +7 78 78 T146 O'HARA, Steven SCO 18 +7 78 78 T146 PARK, David * WAL 18 +7 78 78 T146 WIE, Michelle USA 18 +7 78 78 T146 SLATTERY, Lee ENG 17 +7 +7 T151 ABERY, Warren * RSA 18 +8 79 79 T151 DOUGHERTY, Nick ENG 18 +8 79 79 153 DONALDSON, Jamie * WAL 18 +9 80 80 T154 FOSTER, Mark * ENG 18 +10 81 81 T154 MURPHY, Gary IRL 18 +10 81 81 The asterisk (*) identifies players who started their rounds on the 10th tee.

Print this page

***iacas*** · September 7, 2006

Heck, the PGA tour could start handing out exemptions to any old joe to create a buzz, and it would create a buzz...

I don't think it would. Why would I want to see some dude shoot 95? Even if his name isn't David Duval?

Maybe they could allow an exemption for a Celebrity at each event, again, another marketing ploy...

They've done that. Kenny G has played a few times.

And as David Duval, of all people, said during the Open Championship in a roundtable discussion with Rich Lerner, Michelle Wie's exemptions are like "celebrity" exemptions, but unlike an exemption given to Pamela Anderson, it's still within the framework of golf. She's still a golfer. Pamela might sell tickets, but then it truly would be a circus. Wie keeps it within the framework of golf. Stewart Cink chimed in then and said he agreed, and that as a tournament, you have to increase your bottom line, and Michelle Wie does that.

And now she says that men should never be allowed to play in womens events even though she feels that women should be alowed in men's events. Her argument is that the PGA tour is for the best players, not just the best men's players, and the LPGA tour is for Female players... Now, I can see some logic in that argument, but, if she is saying that the PGA tour should be open to all golfers, then she should have to qualify for the events, and all other female golfers could try to qualify as well...

That doesn't make any sense. If you only see "some" logic in the statement that men shouldn't be allowed to play on the LPGA Tour while anyone can play on the PGA Tour, then you're not really equipped to talk about this kind of thing. Should Tiger Woods be allowed to play on the Champions Tour? How about Jay Haas or Fred Funk on the regular PGA Tour? The same argument has been made about amateurs vs. pros, too.

I guess I am just wondering why she (and everyone else) feels that she deserves special treatment over all of the other great female players that have paid their dues and that have actually won something...

Easy one: because she's special.

So wouldn't you rather to see your daughter posting solid finishes and maybe even a lot of wins aganst women?

My daughter is only three. I intend to support her whatever she decides to do.

Against men she struggles, she looks very bad at times, and it seems to be a great big circus...

Yet she says every time about playing on the PGA Tour: "This is a good learning opportunity. This is a tougher course than we play on the LPGA Tour, so it makes those courses seem easier to me when I go back to them." She's learning. Yeah, she wants to make the cut, but if she learns each week by playing with better players on tougher courses, making the cut is almost a secondary goal. She's said as much.

If she never makes another cut she will be cast aside as a loser and if she decides to play full time on the LPGA tour after she fails against the men she will look like a failure who has come crawling back...

I don't think so.

I just think that she has put herself in an impossible situation...

Only to people who want to needlessly bash at 16-year-old girl. I don't expect her to make cuts on the PGA Tour nor do I think it's important that she does. In fact, part of me is glad: the tournament wins with increased media coverage, Michelle Wie wins with more experience and learning, and by the weekend, the guys who should still be around are still there and the focus shifts from Wie to them.

**elivate** · September 7, 2006

That doesn't make any sense. If you only see "some" logic in the statement that men shouldn't be allowed to play on the LPGA Tour while anyone can play on the PGA Tour, then you're not really equipped to talk about this kind of thing. Should Tiger Woods be allowed to play on the Champions Tour? How about Jay Haas or Fred Funk on the regular PGA Tour? The same argument has been made about amateurs vs. pros, too.

The logic is based on the name of the tour, it is the PGA "Professional Golfers Tour" the LPGA is the Ladies Professional Golfers Tour" The Champions Tour used to be called the "Seniors Tour", that is the point she was trying to make. These are fine lines, grey areas, whatever, but the point is that it is all based on technicalities...

The PGA is benefitting by making money, maybe Michelle is benefitting, it seems that she thinks she is, but for what? I agree that there has to be a first, a trendsetter, whatever, but in her case she has not earned the right to be the one to do it. Had she gone on the LPGA tour and cleaned up then it would be a different story...

***iacas*** · September 7, 2006

The logic is based on the name of the tour, it is the PGA "Professional Golfers Tour" the LPGA is the Ladies Professional Golfers Tour" The Champions Tour used to be called the "Seniors Tour", that is the point she was trying to make. These are fine lines, grey areas, whatever, but the point is that it is all based on technicalities...

You misunderstood my point. The fact that you only saw "some" logic in something that's 100% logical was my point. She can play wherever she wants. Tiger Woods has to content himself with beating up on PGA/European Tour players.

Her statement, which you only saw "some" sense in, is 100% sensical, to put it another way (and make up words while I'm at it).

The PGA is benefitting by making money, maybe Michelle is benefitting, it seems that she thinks she is, but for what?

What do you mean "but for what?" Who loses?

1) Fans get to see Michelle Wie. You may not like her being there, but clearly everyone else who buys tickets that wouldn't normally go don't agree with you. 2) Michelle Wie benefits by learning. 3) Tournament sponsors benefit by increased attendance and media coverage. 4) Charity benefits because of #3. Who's left? It's win-win-win-win.

I agree that there has to be a first, a trendsetter, whatever, but in her case she has not earned the right to be the one to do it.

Blah blah blah. Tiger Woods hadn't earned his sponsor's exemptions either. The fact that they're sponsor's exemptions means that ALL of the people who get them didn't "earn" them. It's inherent in "sponsor's exemptions" that the recipients didn't earn their way into the tournament.

Birdiemachine22 · September 7, 2006

don't forget the rest..

She still has another day to finish dead last. Unless the heat gets to her and she quits or I mean Withdraws.

**elivate** · September 7, 2006

Blah blah blah. Tiger Woods hadn't earned his sponsor's exemptions either. The fact that they're sponsor's exemptions means that ALL of the people who get them didn't "earn" them. It's inherent in "sponsor's exemptions" that the recipients didn't earn their way into the tournament.

Yes, but Tiger was receiving exemptions to events on the tour that he was going to be joining anyway. Everyone knows that sponsors exemptions are for the benefit of the tournament, trying to draw fans, publicity, whatever...

It just puts more pressure on a young girl, that's all, and everyone says she is handling it well, and that she is special and I agree with this, I just really think that she would be in a much better situation had she gone on the LPGA tour and actually got a taste of winning at that level first, then she may have been able to actually qualify for a men's event... And then she would also be in a better position to make a name for herself on the men's tour by her results, not by the fact that she is a 16 year old girl playing against men...

**ragontona** · September 7, 2006

What I find most interesting is that anti-Wie people are SO passionate about their dislike for everything she stands for and believes in. I imagine people, hearts racing, blood pressure rising, just seething in anger pounding out these postings like there's no tomorrow.

It's almost as if she's taking a spot from you . Because you've got to ask yourself... really... how does this affect you? I'm talking big picture here -- does it really matter that a teenaged girl is playing golf against some men in Europe, the majority of which you couldn't pick out of a line-up? Why are you so offended by this? What difference does it make in your life? Do you lay awake at night, fuming that Michelle Wie is playing golf against Lee Slatery, Wade Ormsby, and Leif Westerberg? How does that idea offend you?

We follow professional golf because we enjoy seeing good golf being played. We watch for the personalities. We watch because they do things we can't do. We watch because they sometimes make the same mistakes that we do. We watch for the drama in Tiger's triumphs. We watch for the agony of Monty and Phil's Winged Foot meltdowns.

But does any of that really affect us? Isn't it really just theatre for us... something that we watch as it happens, ponder it afterwards, and reminisce about it forever? Same as a good book or a classic movie?

Here's what it boils down to:

A girl is playing golf with grown men in professional tournaments that absolutely none of us here have any chance of playing in.

That's it. Nothing more to it than that.

Why get so upset about it?

Seriously, I'm asking.

**Madriver** · September 7, 2006

What I find most interesting is that anti-Wie people are SO passionate about their dislike for everything she stands for and believes in. I imagine people, hearts racing, blood pressure rising, just seething in anger pounding out these postings like there's no tomorrow.

...rack it!!! ...and honestly with the exception of Webb and Sorenstam...she plays a different game that the other LPGA regulars. I'm not talking about scoring or winning ...I'm talking about the ability to tee it and use the same clubs as PGA pros on the same courses. Thats why we watch....to see a 16 year girl play the same game as the men do. While I enjoy the LPGA...watching a 23 year 4'-4" Korean hit a 3wood 190 yds on a par 3 is not going to impress me.

**elivate** · September 7, 2006

I personally am not upset at all by this, I am just pointing out some things that I see... I agree that it has no effect on me at all, I understand why the tournaments want her, all I am saying is that I personally feel that it is not a good decision by her to play in these events... I think that she (or her handlers) have gotten her in a no win situation as far as her golfing career goes...

As far as PR and publicty goes they are right on I guess, for a while anyway. If she continues to struggle in the mens events I think she will get less and less exemptions, people are not necessarily tired of seeing her in men's events they are tired of seeing her miss cuts in men's events... This is where the backlash comes from. If she starts making cuts regulalry and actually can compete in men's events then thngs will be different...

All I am saying is that she would have been better off (from a golf perspective) playing on the LPGA for a while...

The bottom line is whether or not she is happy with her decision and she says she is, It can be hard to remember sometimes that she is just a young girl...

**SubPar** · September 7, 2006

Wie will have dozens of pro tournaments and years of of top level coaching behind her when she reaches the age most young people just start thinking about turning pro.

She seems to have a level head on her and there is a good chance whe will do as well on the LPGA Tour as Tiger has done on the PGA.

***iacas*** · September 7, 2006

Yes, but Tiger was receiving exemptions to events on the tour that he was going to be joining anyway. Everyone knows that sponsors exemptions are for the benefit of the tournament, trying to draw fans, publicity, whatever...

Right, "whatever." All those are things she helps out. As I said, win-win-win-win.

It just puts more pressure on a young girl, that's all, and everyone says she is handling it well, and that she is special and I agree with this, I just really think that she would be in a much better situation had she gone on the LPGA tour and actually got a taste of winning at that level first, then she may have been able to actually qualify for a men's event... And then she would also be in a better position to make a name for herself on the men's tour by her results, not by the fact that she is a 16 year old girl playing against men...

This brings me to another point I feel I make every time this comes up. She's a professional golfer. She can only play 7 LPGA events per year. What's she supposed to do with the other 45 weeks in the year? If she can fill it playing under pressure in tough situations - LEARNING - why shouldn't she?

She's tried to win on the LPGA Tour. For whatever reason, it's not happened yet. I don't think that means she should sit around picking her nose for the other 45 weeks of the year.

Roy McAvoy · September 7, 2006

Right, "whatever." All those are things she helps out. As I said, win-win-win-win.

Dude, shes a joke. And a spoiled brat.

**Xt1ncT** · September 7, 2006

Dude, shes a joke. And a spoiled brat.

Errm, you know her then do you?

I like Michelle Wie - and she is going to be a fantastic player. She is already better than most of us, and she's half my age. But, at the moment she is not good enough to play on any of the major men's tours. It's as simple as that. She may well become good enough, only time will tell but she ain't yet. She's getting pad a huge amount by her sponsors, so only playing 7 events on the LPGA isn't going to make her broke. How about she continue her education and practise hard so that when she gets her full LPGA card she can start to kick arse. I do actually think it's a shame they only let her play 7 events.

Sign In

The problem with Michelle Wie...

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

Create an account

Sign in

Topics Being Discussed Right Now on The Sand Trap

TST Partners

Posts

Important Information