Michelle Wie?

Question

Is it time for her to admit to herself that maybe she needs to win a women's event before trying to compete in a man's event?

I'm not claiming she's not a great player. She'd kick most men's butts all over the golf course. But not tour calibar men on a course set up for a tour event. No woman could.

If golf is left completly to the sponsers and fans it turns into a side show event. This proves that. The game deserves better!

Answer 1

Read the interview with Golf Digest a couple of days ago (Wednesday 13 September 2006 at 6.53 p.m. ET).

TODD BUDNICK (84 Lumber Classic media center moderator): We thank Michelle Wie for stopping by here at the 2006 84 Lumber Classic, her first appearance here at the tournament, third PGA Tour appearance this year. You have made a friendship with the Hardys [the family that owns the 84 Lumber Co. as well as the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, where the tournament is played]. That's one of the reasons you're here on a sponsor exemption. Just talk about playing the course.

MICHELLE WIE: The course is in awesome shape. The greens are rolling so good. It's just amazing that I've been playing on this golf course since I was like 13 and just going through the changes. Every time I come, it's like, oh, what did Mr. Hardy do to the golf course now? It's been really fun to see all the changes done to the golf course. Finally coming here in the fall, I was surprised how much the weather changes. It's pretty cold. You know, it's going to be a lot of fun this week. I'm really looking forward to it.
TODD BUDNICK: You mentioned the changes. He does seem to alter it here and there. What's the biggest change from the first time you came?
MICHELLE WIE: I'd have to say the 18th hole is a huge difference, from a little short really uphill hole to a quite longer, flat hole. I was here when they were building the 18th hole and it's amazing to see what he has done to the golf course. I think it's a better golf course now.
TODD BUDNICK: Talk about your season. You've had some great finishes out there on the LPGA Tour. Give us an assessment of your game.
MICHELLE WIE: I feel like my game is really good right now. I played really well this summer and early on in the year in LPGA tournaments, very consistent. I feel like I'm really starting to understand my golf game and hopefully maturing a little bit more. I feel like I'm learning every week here because I'm still very young. But my first year as a professional, I'm learning every single week.
Q. Is it true that you had one week of school before you went over to Switzerland [last week for the Omega European Masters]. And if that's true, then how are you keeping up with what's going on?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, it was actually funny this time because I had never done this before, so usually you have to turn in a green slip a week before you leave on your trip, and I come to the first day of school, and that's when you first meet your teachers. The first day of school, it was like "Okay, can you sign my green slip so I can miss two weeks of school?" The teacher was looking at me, like, okay. It was fun, going back to school and meeting all my friends again and getting back into school life.
Missing two weeks, I brought a lot of schoolwork with me, and I was over in Switzerland and had to study European history. It was really interesting. I'm almost all done with my homework, so I'm pretty good with that.
Q. Is it a lot of email?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I mean, you know, we have a Web site now at school which I think is really it's really crucial for me because I can really communicate with my teachers through email. It makes it a lot easier.
Q. Can you describe how you first met Maggie [Hardy Magerko, the daughter of 84 Lumber founder Joe Hardy] and how you grew to be friends?
MICHELLE WIE: I don't really remember how I first met her. I think it was when I was like 12 or 13. I don't really remember how. I really don't remember how. It's been a long time ago. I first came to the resort and met Mr. Hardy and met Maggie and just really played the golf course and really got to know each other. Maggie just really inspires me because I heard about how she got into the business. I mean, lumber, it's not really a woman's business, and how she really got into the business and really got 84 Lumber to be what it is, I think it's amazing. She really inspires me.
We had like Thanksgiving dinner together and I met her whole family, just really nice people. They're really fun to be around, and obviously this resort is like a second summer home to me.
Q. Have they been to Hawaii to see you as well as you coming here?
MICHELLE WIE: No, not really. I just come here a lot.
Q. I was going to ask you, did you just coincidentally come here? Did they invite you here? My other question, when will you go back to school and what will be the longest stretch that you might attend school?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, they invited me here to this resort and I came here and I was really surprised. We were driving here and there's nothing around here (laughing). You come here and it's like this whole resort. It's amazing how they built this whole thing out of nothing, and it's great. They actually invited me to play in the 84 Lumber when I was 13, and I was like, oh, maybe not yet. I just really wanted to be invited to this event.
I go back on Monday, so I go back to school on Tuesday. I'm actually at school pretty long. I'm only allowed to miss two weeks a semester, which I think I might go over, but we'll keep that a secret (laughter).
I go to school about like a month, month and a half, I think, at a time because I have like a tournament a month basically, I think, maybe like two months, a month and a half. It's not that bad.
Q. Sophomore year, junior year, which year in school?
MICHELLE WIE: I'm a senior.
Q. Your enthusiasm and your determination as regards to the PGA TOUR and playing on the PGA TOUR doesn't seem to have lessened any, even though I think it's six [tournaments] now where you haven't made the cut. Could you talk about staying positive and do you ever get discouraged and perhaps this is the week you get over the hump?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, I never get discouraged. It's not like it's a really easy thing to do to make a cut on the PGA TOUR. If you think about it, every week, half the field is gone after the cut. I mean, the cut isn't like out of 144 players, 100 make it; only like 70 and ties make it. It's a really hard thing to do, and I feel like it's just really fun for me to play in these kinds of events, especially coming to this event where I know the people that run it and I know the golf course, and it's fun for me and I really like it.
Whether I play good or play bad, I end the week knowing that I tried my hardest. It doesn't discourage me at all. I played good at the Sony Open, I played two 68s, so I played under par on a PGA [Tour] golf course, so I know it's in me that I can make the cut. I'm still young, so I'm still learning.
Q. Can you tell us how you'll approach the tournament? You may have to hit longer irons maybe on more of the longer holes. How do you approach that?
MICHELLE WIE: I'm approaching it like it's the longest golf course I've ever played, really. It's not like I'm going to shoot a crazy low number out here. The greens are firm and I'm going to have long irons in. It's just going to be really interesting for me this week to see how I can handle a really long golf course. It's the first time for me. I'm just going to be very patient out there because I know that I'll miss some greens.
I'll have to have a good short game. But there are a couple of short holes out here. We'll have wedges and 9-irons and 8-irons into the green, so I think it's a very good mixture out here. Even though it's a long golf course, there's still a couple of birdie holes out there. I think it's going to be a lot of fun.
Q. Are you planning on going to college, and if so, in what field?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I definitely want to go to college. I think that's very important for me to continue my education. I mean, college life, I'm really looking forward to it. I'm not really actually certain on what I want to study, but definitely something like business or economics or marketing, somewhere around there I think would be really interesting.
Q. I imagine you've gotten a few letters from college coaches?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, I can't play on the team, so not really coaches.
Q. Are you still thinking about Stanford?
MICHELLE WIE: Yes, I am.
Q. What are some of the colleges are going to be fortunate enough that you're going to look at them?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, I'm just looking at a couple right now, really looking at the colleges, but I haven't really made a choice yet. I'm just looking around seeing which ones I like.
Q. Maybe this is the course, but I was just wondering what's your favorite course that the public can actually get out and play, your favorite public access course?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, this course is amazing. There's a lot of amazing holes out here, especially the one with the waterfall and the statue of John Daly. I think that's pretty cool. It's a fun golf course. I mean, it's wide and challenging.
I don't really have a favorite golf course really. Every one is so different, and they're all so unique in their way. That's why I love golf is you never really play a similar golf course. Every one is really different. I don't really have a favorite.
Q. As far as making the cut on the Tour, is that a bigger deal for everybody else or is that a bigger deal for you?
MICHELLE WIE: I think it's a bigger deal for everyone else. Obviously I would love to make the cut. I would love to make the top 20. But I'm not really going to rush it. I realize it's not the easiest thing in the world for a 16-year-old girl to make the cut. I have to get stronger, I know where I have to get better at, and it's going to happen. I know it's in me, but I've just going to play hole by hole and not really think about the cut.
Q. Did you play today? Who did you play with? You've played here before with John [Daly]; is that correct?
MICHELLE WIE: Yes, I have. Today I played by myself. I was a loner out there. I got a lot of work done today, really deciding where all the bail-out areas are and all that kind of stuff because usually when I come here it's usually too relaxed so I never really get to go out on the golf course with that serious of a mind out here.
I did play with John Daly a couple times here, and I'm always amazed at how far he hits the golf ball. He's so fun to play with. I've played with him I think twice here.
Q. If you need a birdie to make the cut, which hole would you rather be playing?
MICHELLE WIE: I'm really bad at remembering holes. I'm not really sure actually.
Q. Are you a Black Eyed Peas fan?
MICHELLE WIE: Oh, my God, I'm so excited for that, you have no idea. Ross is like, "If you're top 20 and have a chance to win the thing, you're not going to that concert." I'm like, "Oh, give me a break." I'm climbing out the window if I have to. I'm such a big fan.
Q. What's it like playing with guys, and how do they treat you and react to you?
MICHELLE WIE: It's so much fun. I mean, like I always say, it's what I want to do. They treat me really good out here. Everyone is really nice to me. A lot of the players come up and they're like, "Oh, good luck this week." It's really nice to hear those kind of things and to feel welcome out here. It's good to feel accepted. It's a lot of fun playing out here. It's a really big challenge for me and I like it.
Q. Have you changed anything, this being your sixth time trying to qualify for a Tour event, from say the first time you tried to do it, through the progression? Has anything changed for you?
MICHELLE WIE: I think mentally I've changed a lot of things about how I approach the event and how I approach the golf course and how I handle practice rounds, how do I manage my energy, what do I need to focus more on. Like I said, it's a learning progress. I'm really learning. Every time I come out here, I try to end the week learning something.
Q. Have you read at all about Babe Didrikson Zaharias?
MICHELLE WIE: Yes, I read her autobiography.
Q. Your opinion, please?
MICHELLE WIE: I think she's absolutely amazing. I was absolutely amazed at the end of the book about what she did because not only was she a really good golf player, she went to the Olympics. It's pretty amazing how good of an athlete she is. She seemed like a nice person, too. It was very sad at the end, just very sad.
Q. You said that the men on the Tour have accepted you. How have the women accepted you on the LPGA Tour?
MICHELLE WIE: I don't know if they've accepted me or not but that's the feeling that I get, and it's pretty good. Playing on the LPGA Tour, they're all very nice to me. We get along very well. It's really fun playing on the LPGA, too, just meeting new people and really getting to know all the players. I feel so lucky to be in this position because so many people have to pay thousands of dollars to play with pros in pro-ams, where I actually get to meet them, get to know them. I feel very lucky.
Q. What's your response to critics that might say that you're jumping the gun as far as playing in so many PGA [Tour] events as opposed to LPGA events? Just kind of what's your response to that?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, I think that a lot of people think that I have to master the LPGA before I can get to the PGA [Tour], but my feeling is a little bit different on that because they're so different that obviously I'm playing the maximum number of LPGA tournaments that I can, and I'm trying to win a lot of tournaments there.
But it's just so different out here that I feel like I have to play in PGA TOUR events to get better at PGA TOUR events, and I just have to go through it and work on it and learn from it. That's the way that I learn how to do it on the LPGA, as well, and I just think that I have to go through the same progress here. I know it's not going to come overnight, it's just a long learning progress.
Q. I just wanted to ask you about your schedule and how you think about it, not only this year but going forward. You said that school is going to remain a part of your life for at least a while. The restriction on the LPGA is going to be obviously still a function. So when you think about maybe next year and how you're going to plan your schedule, how are you thinking about that right now?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, I think that it's I think that having to balance school and golf is very important to me because truth be told, I don't think I can really handle going out every single week and playing every single week. I like having the social life. I like having to get away from golf and just going to school and just being myself and just being 16 or 17 next year or 18. I like having the dual life, so I'm very happy that school is still going to be a part of my life and that golf is still a part of my life because they're both very important to me and I feel like I have a good balance between the number of tournaments that I play and the amount of time that I spend in school.
I'm not going to be able to play as much tournaments as I want to. I won't be able to play every single week and I won't have that momentum going into every week, but I still feel like it's very important for me as a person that I go to school and I play golf at the same time.
Q. Do the LPGA restrictions almost force you to play outside of the schedule that you'd prefer?
MICHELLE WIE: It doesn't really force me to do anything. I would love to play one or two more events, but unfortunately they have the restriction and I'm very happy with the tournaments that I'm playing in. I think that since I'm only playing a restricted number of LPGA events, it really opens up my schedule to play internationally and to play in more men's events, which I think is fabulous for me because I really enjoy playing internationally and playing on the PGA TOUR, playing on the Asian Tour, playing on the European Tour. It just brings so much excitement to my life that I really like it and I really like having the diversity.
Q. Any more PGA TOUR events this year or any more men's events this year?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, I have Casio [World Open in Japan]. I'm going back to Japan, which I'm really excited for, and the Sony Open next year.
Q. How instrumental has your coach, [PGA Professional David] Leadbetter, been to you?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, he helped me so much with my game. I mean, just the first time that I saw him until now, my swing has gotten so much better. He's just so fun to work with. I just always look forward to meeting with him and working with him because he's a fun person. You know, he makes the game really exciting for me, and he makes it fun.
Q. Do you ever wish you were just a normal teenager?
MICHELLE WIE: No, I don't like being normal. I mean, people called me queer, but I like it (laughing). I feel like I'm really normal when I'm at school. I'm normal on the golf course. It's hard to say what normal really is, you know. What is normal? I'm not really sure what that actually means. But I feel like I have God gave me a special talent, and I intend to use it. You know, when I'm at school, I'm me.
TODD BUDNICK: We'll thank Michelle for coming in, and good luck this week.

Answer 2

I think she should concentrate on being a good professional on her tour (LPGA) first and when she comes to dominate the tour down the road (should it happen) she can then try to match her skill versus the men - the last mens tourney that she played she went 78-79 and missed the cut - she is as long as any man but her trajectory is not suitable (yet) to attempt to play on the PGA - Sergio Garcia hit it right on the head - she is very talented but she hits the ball way too low to allow herself to attack the pin - Phil Mickelson went through this problem and worked it out with the help of Rick Smith and Dave Pelz - now he's playing a power fade which allows the ball to land soft from tee to green - Michelle is going to be a top 10 LPGA'er but unless she learns to control her trajectory, she will not favor well on the PGA

Answer 3

I'm starting to think that way. I have no problem with her playing against men, per say, but I would like to see her win something. She's not ready to compete on the big stage of golf yet. I believe she will be, she's only. what, 16 or 17, but for now she should stick with LPGA events.

-The Mehrt

Answer 4

I like Michelle. She's still a kid.
But I think its time for her to just play in the LPGA for at least a few years.
She cannot compete with the men, yet. If she was qualifying for men's tournaments, thats one thing, but she isn't.
She does bring in money and perhaps she is encouraged to play with the men. However, if she continues to fail, the party will soon end. I think it is in her best interest to just concentrate on playing with the women for the foreseable future.

Answer 5

My thing is when ever I play a sport I play to win. She clearly isn't out there to win. It's a sideshow Bob thing going on. I'm glad she is a great golfer and glad that she has the intestines to step out there and play with the boys but she isn't much competition just like Sorenston. Whats wrong with women being dominate athelets in her respective female sport. It's almost looking like beating other women isn't enough they have to try and beat men and Fail Miserably trying to do so.

Answer 6

if you realize that golf is nothing without sponsors and fans.....then you would realize she doubles the fan draw in every event she is in women's or men's. period. its dollars to the event holders and TV ratings. sponsors pay for her to play in both the women's and men's events. she is only 16. and not allowed to compete on the lpga full time yet.

if some sponsor paid for you to play with the pros wouldn't you do it? c'mon. she has earned over 250k this year.

Answer 7

i don't think she cares..she is playing off sponsored exemptions..and she has the built in excuse of being only 16

Answer 8

yes she should stick to womens tournaments,she is going to lose all confidence if she keeps finishing last,its her management company that thought it was a good idea for her to do this.

Answer 9

Yes. She's a cutie-pie, w/ a nice perky rack, but she's turning out to be not-so-good of a golfer.

Answer 10

AS LONG AS PEOPLE PAY TO WATCH HER PLAY, WHAT DOES IT MATTER WHERE SHE PLAYS... LEAVE HER TO DO HER THING, AND YOU DO YOURS...