First off, I hope everyone has had a more relaxing week than I have. My wife and I closed on our first house Thursday, and it’s been chaos ever since! That being said, I’m ready to settle in and talk a little golf. I’ve done my best to catch the main headlines this past week in the golf world, and a few of them have caught my attention. Michelle Wie, the soon-to-be professional, dominated the news once again.
Any golf fan who halfway pays attention to the sport knew Wie would turn professional as soon as she had the chance, and that seems to be the case. Wie announced this past week she intends on turning pro tomorrow. Well, actually her dad made the decision, which also comes as no suprise to yours truly. Wie’s dad has been a little controversial as of late, making just about every business decision for his daughter.
Some of you may ask the following question: why wouldn’t Wie’s father make the important decisions since his phenom daughter will only be 16 years old? Quite frankly, I have problems with both sides of the equation here. Should Michelle Wie be turning pro at age 16 in the first place? No. Should her dad be making business decisions on her behalf? Not a chance.
It is beyond me why so many teenagers are making the jump to professional sports before they even win at their current level of competition. I’m not singling out Michelle Wie here because it is happening in a lot of sports. There is no secret that the NBA is overrun by teenagers who aren’t ready for the spotlight. The same can be said for professional baseball, where teenage phenoms come along very rarely.
The difference in Michelle Wie’s situation, however, is very noticeable and unacceptable. The athletes turning pro in baseball and basketball are at least 18 years old or out of high school. The “Big Wiesy” is barely old enough to drive. I’m not sure how that works. In the United States, individuals have to be 18 years old to vote for crying out loud. If someone isn’t old enough to vote for the President, they certainly shouldn’t be allowed to get paid for playing golf.
As far as Wie’s dad is concerned, he needs to stay out of the way. If his daughter is old enough to play professionally, she should be able to make decisions on her own. I know most of you think I’m ruthless, but it’s true. And I know Wie’s dad probably cares about his daughter and her future. But there is a chance he could be looking out for himself just a little too much. This leads me back to my first point. If Mr. Wie is making the decisions for his daughter, she isn’t mature enough to be playing for money, sponsorships, etc.
There will be kids worldwide wanting to turn professional at age 16 now because of Michelle Wie. Everyone keeps referring to the success Tiger had at such an early age. Mr. Woods at least attended college for a short time and had the chance to grow up. Wie is four or five years younger than Tiger was when he turned professional. Sure it worked out for him, but for every Tiger, there are thousands who will fail. Just ask Ty Tryon how he has done so far.
There are definitely positives to Wie turning pro so early. The revenue for events will probably increase with Wie’s increased participation. But what about Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis, and Annika Sorenstam? Yeah, Annika Sorenstam is still playing women’s golf. These ladies should be getting the spotlight instead of a teenager who has never won an event on the LPGA Tour. Give the credit where it’s due. I know the world gets caught up in the hoopla over Michelle Wie, but I’m obviously not one of them. I won’t be jumping on the bandwagon until she is at least an adult.
Ryder Cup Controversy: Part Two
A few week’s back, I discussed some “Ryder Cup controversy dealing with the way the European team is selected. This week, I’m going to discuss another Ryder Cup situation I don’t like. I read an article last week that mentioned how much Tom Lehman wanted to participate in the Ryder Cup as a captain and player. Lehman stated that it’s a main goal of his to make the Ryder Cup team as a player and maintain his captain duties as well.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of Tom Lehman, but this isn’t the way things should be for a couple reasons. First, as an American, I want to see the United States team win the Ryder Cup every time it’s played. That being said, the United States team needs all the help they can get when it comes to the captain’s selection. We all saw what happens when the wrong captain is picked. Just take a look back at the 2004 Ryder Cup. That was disastrous.
The captain needs to be focusing on captain duties, not player duties. It’s hard enough to prepare for a match as a player, but Lehman is going to have to get all the pairings straightened out as well. That is too much for one player, and the Ryder Cup will end the same way it did last year if Lehman is both player and captain.
Secondly, if a golfer is good enough to play in the Ryder Cup, they shouldn’t be the captain anyway. The captain in the Ryder Cup should be a golfer who is a legend to the sport and has moved on to something else. I know Bernhard Langer is attempting to be a player and captain in the 2006 Ryder Cup as well, so I won’t let him off the hook. However, I think my point is very clear on this topic. The golfers can either be team members or the team captain, not both.
How Low Can You Go?
I’m on a roll so far, but I have one more thing to talk about. I didn’t catch much of the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro this past weekend, but I did see the final leaderboard Sunday night on The Golf Channel. That’s all I needed to see of that tournament. I know there are a lot of golf fans that love to see nothing but birdies and eagles, but I am definitely not one of them. I like to see the course fight back and win some of the battles.
Tournaments that are won with final scores around -20 or better are much more boring to me than tournaments won with final scores of -10 or higher. The course is half of the story and it’s just not fun watching the golfers get all the glory. That is one of the many reasons I love the major championships so much. The best tournaments on the PGA Tour each year are played on tough golf courses. The four major championships, The Players Championship, the Tour Championship, etc. rarely see a golfer finish at -15 or better. And that’s the way I like it.
I don’t want to show any disrespect to K.J. Choi for winning the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro. Congratulations to him for going so low to win the event. The tournaments are still won by the golfers who finish with the best score, and that’s the most important thing. However, it’s tough for me to watch the golfers birdie or eagle every other hole without a little trouble here and there.
The Final Say
I obviously feel a little stronger about the Michelle Wie situation than I do about the other two topics in this article. But I just wanted to get those two things off my chest while I was on a roll. None of these topics are life or death situations, and I will still watch golf with just as much excitement as I would otherwise. Someone has to speak out about these situations, and I felt the need to do so this week.
Michelle Wie is going to make a lot of money in professional golf whether she makes it big or not. She has already won as far as money goes. Wie will be worth millions as soon as she makes the decision to turn professional, and something about that just isn’t right in my book. I was raised to work hard and then get paid. There is a decent chance Michelle Wie will do great as a professional, but that doesn’t mean she should get this much attention right now. I think she needs to show a little more of her golf game before getting rich quick.
If Tom Lehman plays in the 2006 Ryder Cup, I will still cheer for him like I would any other time. However, the United States team will get blown away just like they did last year. It’s sad, but true. Lehman should be focusing his attention on being the captain and nothing more. Finally, it looks like I’m in luck this week when it comes to watching the World Golf Championship event. I’m sure the final scores will be in the -5 or -10 range, and the golf will be much more exciting in the process!
That’s all I have to say this week! Are you a fan of Michelle Wie? If so, do you think a 16-year old deserves a $10 million contract right from the start? Also, do you think Ryder Cup captains should be allowed to play as well? Finally, do you enjoy the tournaments where the players get the best of the course or the ones where the course gets the best of the players? If you have anything to add, feel free to comment below or discuss it in our forum. Thanks for reading Thrash Talk and have a great week of golf!
Photo Credits: © Unknown.
Why shouldn’t Michele Wie be able to turn professional at the age of 16? She possess the skill and talent to compete at the professional level. If Michele’s father making decisions for her is the measuring stick of her maturity then what about the large roles that both Christina Kim and Natalie Gulbis’ father play in their careers. Does that detract for their maturity level and make them unfit to handle the rigors of competing in professional golf. The most important component for those that turn pro early is a support network. Wie will have that with her family, agent, and Nike representatives. Those that have successfully made the leap have had this in place.
There seems to be numerous people upset with the exposure and money that Wie will receive at such a young age. What many people fail to understand is that endorsement contracts for rookies no matter the age are speculative. These companies are attempting to estimate the future worth of Michele Wie. The question is whether or not her play in the future will merit this investment. I�m sure that Michele Wie has worked extremely hard to this point to achieve what she has. Both professional golf and Michele Wie will benefit greatly from the exposure that she will bring to the sport.
First and foremost I would like to congratulate you Mr. Thrasher and your wife on your recent purchase of your home. It’s quite the undertaking as I have been finding out myself these past few months. That aside, Michele Wie is no doubt a superb golfer, competing both in PGA tour and LPGA tour events in the past year. What the future holds, only the golf gods know for sure. But at this point in time, if Nike and Sony want to drop roughly $5 million apiece of this youthful young woman so be it. All too often people sometimes forget that children of all ages who are in the limelight are put through the rigors of stress, pressure and disappointment before they reach “legal age.” VH1 had an entire season of a particular television show dealing with these types of situations: Child Actors.
These kids start grinding it out on a day-to-day basis almost as soon as they exit the womb. Look at the Olsen twins for Pete’s sake. These two are millionaires and they aren’t even “legal” yet either. I know it may be a far cry from the arena of professional golf, but I think it’s important to remember that there are hundreds of children/young adults who are making beaucoup dollars who can’t even play golf or basketball. So, good luck to Miss. Wie, we’ll be watching.