Michelle Wie became the first woman to qualify for an adult male USGA championship two days ago after tying for first place in a 36-hole U.S. Amateur Public Links sectional qualifying tournament in Pennsylvania.
Wie, who finished second Sunday at an LPGA major, tied Artie Fink Jr. at +1 145 in Altoona, PA to qualify. Wie and Fink earned the only two spots available in the 85-player qualifier for the PubLinks, to be held July 11-16 at Shaker Run Golf Club in Lebanon, OH.
Why is Michelle Wie playing against the men again? The Masters. Specifically, the PubLinks champion traditionally receives an invitation to compete in The Masters, and Augusta officials have said that if Michelle were to win the PubLinks, she’d be warmly welcomed to Augusta National next April.
Very few people have ever question Michelle Wie’s ability to play. That she’s qualified for a men’s USGA championship only serves to embolden her already impressive résumé. Days before, she played a women’s professional major and finished behind only the single most dominating athlete in all of sport, besting all other women at a major championship.
But she finished second, and that’s where legitimate questions about Michelle Wie remain. If she doesn’t play well at the PubLinks – perhaps even if she doesn’t win – she’ll once again be forced to deliver a “I gave it my best shot, it wasn’t enough, I’m happy for the experience” speech. Wie’s detractors are united on one front: she needs to experience winning. Top players today say one thing to a man (or woman): winning begets winning. Losing, by corollary, begets losing, and Michelle Wie hasn’t done anything but lose since she sat atop the 2003 U.S. Women’s Public Links at the age of 13. She was booted from all the women’s USGA championships last year (like the U.S. Women’s Amateur, held here in Erie, PA) without a victory. Finishing second to Annika in a women’s professional major be a moral victory or a good week, but it ain’t winning.
Tiger Woods, on the other hand, won three consecutive U.S. Men’s Amateur titles after winning three consecutive U.S. Junior Amateur championships. He’d won three “majors” – and six major national championships – before he really set foot on the PGA Tour. His winning at the amateur level beget winning on the PGA Tour. Michelle’s only managed to lose.
Some question instead B.J. Wie, Michelle’s somewhat overbearing father, and point to Michelle’s age. In interviews, Wie appears vapid, unprepared, and tired. Tired of losing, tired of giving concession speeches, and tired of being shuttled around by her father? One can only guess, but it’s clear to anyone close to golf that B.J. is doing most of the decision-making. Is he hyping his daughter in hopes for a big payoff when she turns pro with little regard to how she fares after then? Some wonder if he’s not just a much gentler version of Marc O’Hair.
Frankly, that’s probably stretching things a bit too far. The truth of the matter is this: Michelle is young, but she’s got an amazing game. Though it’s easy to second guess Michelle’s (or B.J.’s) choices, we’ll know a heckuva lot more in 20 years, and even then the answer may still be murky. With the promise Michelle shows, what level of greatness must she achieve to validate her plans and silence all second guessers? I don’t know.
But, I do know that even the greatest golfers lose a lot more than they win, and Michelle’s got that part of the game down pat.
Photo Credit: © Unknown.