M. Wie ***Merged***

[Hstead]

BJ has to be part of the problem. Ray Charles could see that. Michelle could use a new ":voice" I agree. Butch would be great for her. She is just a mental case and that does not make for a good golfer. She has been given every opportunity since she was young, but she has to grow up, kick dad to the curb, and get a manager that helps her focus on improving her game, starting with a new coach. BJ should be smart enough to see he is not helping and get himself out of the way.

[plus8]

[quote name='KYMAR' timestamp='1353014551' post='5939767']
"Poor" Michelle Wie? I can't say I root for her to fail but i admit to not finding the same amount of tragedy that you do in her inability to shoot scores that might win a club championship. There is nothing about her that is sympathetic. She has been availed every possible opportunity to succeed at the game since she was 10 years old... i don't doubt she has talent. But none of that is a guarantee of success...what her parents have done to her.... she often acts entitled and spoiled... She needs to either go out there and earn it, or do something else.
[/quote]

Yeah. What he said. I get the pressure - heck, I miss 3-footers when there's 4 skins at stake -- but she's in a different place. I had the opportunity to see the ladies up close during an earlier LPGA event, and they were, by and large, a friendly, respectful, hard-working, and professional group -- But MW seemed very aloof - even entitled. On the other hand, almost everybody else - Petterson, Kerr, Miyazato(s), Lewis, and (especially) Creamer - they all acted like they truly loved their sport and their fans. Personally, I don't care if she makes another 2 cents. The LGPA is so FULL of great golfers, wasting time on any one spoiled kid is not productive.

[dcmidnight]

Next year will be the first time in 4 or 5 years when there's been nothing else but LPGA golf to focus on. How hard can it be to find a putting coach to work with?

I bet she wins at least once.

[corky]

She tries to force things when its not happening.

Personally I think she needs a love interest......

[G N R]

[quote name='imakaveli' timestamp='1353055639' post='5942015']
[quote name='Mikka' timestamp='1353042272' post='5941709']
Wow! An 81 as a pro is pretty bad for pro that can easily score.. I think it was Scott Jamieson in Hong Kong the other day that carded an 85!
[/quote]

I've seen Pablo Martin shoot 90 this year, it made me feel better Fowler shoot something like 84 this year right?
[/quote]

That's just crazy. I can't quite fathom how any tour professional can card anything higher than a 76-78. These guys are the best. Sure they'll have 1 blow-up hole where they double bogey but to have a couple of triples or doubles is ridiculous for their talent. They live and breathe golf and have the technique down pat. We on the other hand, rock up to the first tee sometimes without having swung a club in a couple of weeks.

[G N R]

[quote name='Lesmond' timestamp='1353059908' post='5942055']
[quote name='Mikka' timestamp='1353042422' post='5941713']
Parents
[/quote]

I was reading that na yeon choi parents was on her back, till she told them to leave her alone for a while.

They did, and she won her first tournament not long after.

Her problems are probably more than just her parents, though.

I agree, great swing. Putter not quite
[/quote]

The talent is obviously there. At least if the parents F off, it will take a load off and let her relax again. She's crying out for some Wie-time.

[PaddyK]

Mcilroy shot 80 in the last round of the masters, woods shot an 81 in the Open..even the best mses up sometimes

[Vindog]

I blame her handlers. It's too bad really.

Honestly I think she'll come around.

Nike wins again!!!

[Tim Meitner]

[quote name='dcmidnight' timestamp='1353065901' post='5942189']
Next year will be the first time in 4 or 5 years when there's been nothing else but LPGA golf to focus on. How hard can it be to find a putting coach to work with?

I bet she wins at least once.
[/quote]

I'll take that bet!

Even the best putting coach can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear. She's a poor putter, and it has put so much pressure on her mentally, that the rest of her game has suffered.

She could conceivably catch lightning in a bottle for one week, but I seriously doubt it.

...and it's about time to place blame for poor play where it belongs: squarely on the person wielding the stick. Ultimately responsibility lies with the player. She's a big girl now, as horrible as her parents [b]might[/b] be, it's on her now.

In 5 years she'll be doing something else for a living...

Oh, shouldn't this be in the LPGA forum?

[imakaveli]

[quote name='Mikka' timestamp='1353070009' post='5942299']
[quote name='imakaveli' timestamp='1353055639' post='5942015']
[quote name='Mikka' timestamp='1353042272' post='5941709']
Wow! An 81 as a pro is pretty bad for pro that can easily score.. I think it was Scott Jamieson in Hong Kong the other day that carded an 85!
[/quote]

I've seen Pablo Martin shoot 90 this year, it made me feel better Fowler shoot something like 84 this year right?
[/quote]

That's just crazy. I can't quite fathom how any tour professional can card anything higher than a 76-78. These guys are the best. Sure they'll have 1 blow-up hole where they double bogey but to have a couple of triples or doubles is ridiculous for their talent. They live and breathe golf and have the technique down pat. We on the other hand, rock up to the first tee [b]sometimes [/b]without having swung a club in a couple of weeks.
[/quote]

Me [i]most [/i]of the times

[dcmidnight]

I dont think anyone really has a clue as to how much work the pros - at any level - put in during the week. Personally I cant imagine playing tour level golf full time and also going to school. By all accounts she loved being at Stanford so my guess is she was not exactly 100% committed to golf the last four years. And if you've ever been to the Stanford campus I dont think anyone would blame her.

Being a poor putter is not some incurable disease. Take it from me, I had two putting lessons lest year and lost 3 strokes in 12 months of working on it. Its part mental, part routine, part mechanics. Believe me it is *hard* work - its a lot more than just wailing balls on a putting mat at night. But my guess is she has a far better 2013.

[MileHighClub]

[quote name='plus8' timestamp='1353065368' post='5942177']
[quote name='KYMAR' timestamp='1353014551' post='5939767']
"Poor" Michelle Wie? I can't say I root for her to fail but i admit to not finding the same amount of tragedy that you do in her inability to shoot scores that might win a club championship. There is nothing about her that is sympathetic. She has been availed every possible opportunity to succeed at the game since she was 10 years old... i don't doubt she has talent. But none of that is a guarantee of success...what her parents have done to her.... she often acts entitled and spoiled... She needs to either go out there and earn it, or do something else.
[/quote]

Yeah. What he said. I get the pressure - heck, I miss 3-footers when there's 4 skins at stake -- but she's in a different place. I had the opportunity to see the ladies up close during an earlier LPGA event, and they were, by and large, a friendly, respectful, hard-working, and professional group -- But MW seemed very aloof - even entitled. On the other hand, almost everybody else - Petterson, Kerr, Miyazato(s), Lewis, and (especially) Creamer - they all acted like they truly loved their sport and their fans. Personally, I don't care if she makes another 2 cents. The LGPA is so FULL of great golfers, wasting time on any one spoiled kid is not productive.
[/quote]

I think creating space between her and her parents would be good for her game. She also could probably use a fresh start with a new equipment company. Go back to Stockton to cure the putting woes. Restart and rededicate herself to the game.

I will say that I got to see her up close at last years US Women's Open practice round, and she went out of her way to sign autographs and accommodate fans. She appeared to be a very nice girl. Kerr, on the other hand, not so much.

[Socrates]

Being a Wie fan, it pains me to see her play like this and you can clearly see from the highlights that she doesn't want to be there. Having followed her for an entire tournament, it was clear that her parents are THE PROBLEM. The only place she was truly able to get away from her parents was in school. I still think she struggles for another season (maybe not even that) and returns to get her Masters and Ph.D., effectively retiring from golf. That might never happen though as then BJ would have to go back to teaching and I'm sure he doesn't want to do that.

[Guia]

You forget that this is not the only time she has shot in the 80s. I keep hoping she will break through
but I think time is running out. The longer she plays like she has this year the more the pressure and
the longer she shoots bad scores.

Yes, her swing is pretty but a pretty swing has little to do with posting scores. It just isn't her
putting (which is very poor), but it is her decision making.

She can't be happy playing like she is and is not making any money. I think financially she is living on her sponsorship money. The women don't make a lot money, even less with the travel and not making
cuts. Another year like this one and she might consider a different line of work.

[dcmidnight]

In her career she has "only" 2 wins and 31 top 10s - and she *just* turned 23.

This idea that she is some failure who is washing out of golf is freaking laughable. Laughable.

[Guia]

That is a good point, she is still very young. However, she has been pro for quite awhile and has
clearly not played well with any consistency. She was focused during the Solheim Cup and played great,
but she has not played to potential and I am not sure that she even likes the game. She has rarely shown
the ability to concentrate at length. Under the microscope and playing tournament golf since she was 12
years old can be hell. There are many prodigies in various sports that burn out by their 20s.

[tbowles411]

[quote name='dcmidnight' timestamp='1353092998' post='5943937']
In her career she has "only" 2 wins and 31 top 10s - and she *just* turned 23.

This idea that she is some failure who is washing out of golf is freaking laughable. Laughable.
[/quote]
But she's WON. She's better than many ladies on tour. She's been a Solheim Cup team member. Her issue is her folks are in her ear along with Ledbetter. Not that I'm a big Ledbetter fan, but if her folks let her grow the heck up and be on her own, maybe she'll finally break out and blossom into the player that's probably busting to get out.

[PittShark]

I agree with anyone who points to the parenting issues being one of her biggest downfalls. Take a look at the pics from the tournament, specifically Wednesday, in the Tour/Pre-release thread, it really says it all. You see the pictures of basically every other player and you almost always see the player and their caddy. Maybe the occasional rep or instructor, but sparingly. Look at the MW pics....on the range, BJ is literally standing right in her grill in every picture. In addition, Greg noted that at times, BJ was on one side of her and her mom was on the other side, with one or both of them taking notes! Then go forward to the pics during the pro-am round and you see it only gets worse. In one or two of the pics, she's standing next to a tee box huddling with BJ, Ledbetter, and you see her mom walking toward them carrying her driver!

I refuse to believe this kind of micro management is good for any player.....but just my 2 cents.

[tbowles411]

[quote name='Guia' timestamp='1353093556' post='5943983']
That is a good point, she is still very young. However, she has been pro for quite awhile and has
clearly not played well with any consistency. [u][b]She was focused during the Solheim Cup and played great[/b][/u],
but she has not played to potential and I am not sure that she even likes the game. She has rarely shown
the ability to concentrate at length. Under the microscope and playing tournament golf since she was 12
years old can be hell. There are many prodigies in various sports that burn out by their 20s.
[/quote]
She was able to do that because her parents were banned from being around her. She was dominant that weekend because her teammates protected her from the watchful eye of her parents.

[MileHighClub]

[quote name='dcmidnight' timestamp='1353092998' post='5943937']
In her career she has "only" 2 wins and 31 top 10s - and she *just* turned 23.

This idea that she is some failure who is washing out of golf is freaking laughable. Laughable.
[/quote]

Are you really going to argue that her game has not regressed considerably this year? 1 top 10 and 10 missed cuts in 22 events is pretty poor, and definitely a big step backwards in a year that was supposed to be so big because she was finally done with school.

[Guia]

We really have no idea how much a factor her parents are on her game. Yes, they seem to be around when
she is playing but we don't know if they actually offer advice or try to influence her. She is an adult
now and I doubt that they really influence her as much as is assumed.

I have always been a fan but I don't know if she has the drive to get to the level we fans expect. She
may not have that special something that super stars possess and may stay in the middle of pack (or
lower). I would love to see her win major and contend on a regular basis, but I'm not sure she has it.

[mallrat]

She needs a break from her family first and foremost.

I think the bigger issue is the way B.J. brought her up in golf. She was brought up as a sideshow, not as a winning golfer. She played against the men and this and that. She didn't focus on being the best women's golfer. Look at Lydia Cho (or whatever) she focuses on winning events not being a sideshow. This I attribute to BJ

[Guia]

Wie is on TV Golf Channel as I type this. She is having a better day today than yesterday and is at
3 over for the day. This is a no cut tourney so she will pickup a few bucks. Very good looking girl.

[SheriffBooth]

[quote name='Guia' timestamp='1353094540' post='5944049']
We really have no idea how much a factor her parents are on her game. Yes, they seem to be around when
she is playing but we don't know if they actually offer advice or try to influence her. She is an adult
now and I doubt that they really influence her as much as is assumed.

[/quote]

Greg (pga43) has confirmed this week that both mom and dad are actively coaching alongside Leadbetter both on the range and during the practice round. I was as big a defender of her parents involvement as anyone, but this news has changed my mind. She needs some space, in my opinion, and Leadbetter's hyper-mechanical approach to golf is not helping her at all - she is not Nick Faldo.

[Sean2]

I feel bad for Ms. Wie. Sure she is 23, (and has a couple of bucks), but I'm sure it's a lot more difficult to simply cut herself off from her parents then just walking away. Her father, more than anything, is probably the reason she is playing so poorly. She probably went to college just to get away from him.

I think it was NYC who finally told her parents to stop following her around and stay in Korea. She said it was very painful, but once she severed those strings her play vastly improved.

[Guia]

I thought they lived in Hawaii?

[Socrates]

With these scores she wouldn't even be contending in the 1st Flight at anyone's club championship!! Not putting good, but even if you took off 8 strokes for putting she still would be +6 and 63rd place. These are Bobby Clampett / Ian Baker-Finch numbers and we know where they went.

[attachment=1422091:Screen Shot 2012-11-16 at 3.32.15 PM.png]

[jons1]

DUDE, how did you guys get my scorecards? oh, those aren't mine, never mind.

[rafal]

1st place 13/14-261 -- Ai Miyazato 5'3

Last place 4/14-271 -- M Wie 6'2"

24 stroke difference over 2 rounds. It's driving not putting that's a problem. You get 10 yards over Ai who is half her size and hit 4/14?

As Johnny Miller said about his driving yips: "you CAN win events when putting poorly. But you can't win anything driving poorly."

[Mr22putt]

[quote name='Guia' timestamp='1353100920' post='5944519']
I thought they lived in Hawaii?
[/quote]

I'm sure they still have their house in Hawaii.
They just bought a house in Jupiter, Fla where I think is now their primary residence.
I think they also have a house near Big Horn in Cali, too.