LPGA Ginn Tribute - Michelle Wie's Round

[mat562]

I agree with you.

 

I think the Wie 'camp' have done her no favours and have no doubt been instrumental in advising her to do things which been ill-advised. At 17, I was far from being the finished article too.

 

My main irk with Wie is the PGA invites, and the fact that she has chosen to play in so many PGA events. I'm not sexist in any way shape or form, but to me, the PGA is a male tour. Simple as that. The LPGA is for females. The PGa is for males.

 

I'm not comfortable at all with any crossover between the two. It shouldn't happen. A female pro should aim to become No 1 on the LPGA and males vice versa. Only Wie and Sorenstam have challenged this in modern times. No-one else. I think that speaks volumes about the general opinion amongst the pros. The Sorenstam appearance was a novelty. Even she said that. The Wie appearances are becoming tiresome and embarrassing for all concerned; and I would say that that is including the sponsors too.

 

In the case of the LPGA invites, the bottom line is she is failing to perform. I know it's early days regarding this season and there has been an injury issue, but struggling to break 90 is really unacceptably bad. and the WD to me is just a blatant and disrespectful excuse.

 

Much of the 'mystique' of her great talent has been demolished by her play and actions of the last 9 months.

 

She needs to get to a point where her game is sufficient to get her through Tour School and then get her card and show us what she is capable of. On the LPGA Tour.

 

The sad fact of the matter is, if I was offered an invite to an event, with a purse, I'd take it. Particularly if i had the Nike and Sony marketing machines telling me I had to - which is highly likely.

[TRAV1]

Also, considering how she has played on the LPGA in the past, I would have advised her to withdraw as well. Shooting an 88, especially if she is injured, would have been a disaster for her season. I don't see what finishing the round would have gained anyone.

 

I don't think anyone here would expect her to have finished. Our debate is whether or not she is being honest about WHY she withdrew. I don't think she is, and to me that is unprofessional... she has been a lot of talk over the past several months and no walk. Call me a shark in the feeding frenzy if you want, but Team Wie are the ones chumming the water.

[HeadonaStick]

I think the turning point in the whole Michelle Wie saga was when she (or her "team") decided that she should turn pro. She was a talented player that created a buzz when she played in any event, men's or women's. Once she turned pro and started bringing in $20M a year the tables turned and she was held accountable for not winning. I think she is very talented and think that she will have great success on the LPGA Tour when she finally gets everything sorted out. Truth is, she has been handed a lot more than a lot of other players (male and female) have not in the past. Tiger did play on sponsors exemptions, but he was able to work for his tour card through good play and winning.

 

I also think that her boasts of playing the Masters and Ryder Cup are just rediculous when she can't make the cut on a PGA Tour. There is a huge difference between making the cut and playing the Masters or Ryder Cup.

 

I also find it odd that she played poor at last year's John Deere and it was heat exaustion and then this year during a poor round it was a sore wrist. Isn't John Daly getting killed in the media for the same type of behavior?

For the record, I don't believe that Wie will ever shine on the LPGA tour. I think her career has been badly mishandled and her athlete's mind has been damaged - along with her credibility and her actual play.

 

I don't have a problem with her turning pro.

 

I don't have a problem, per se, with her playing PGA events.

 

On the surface, I don't have a problem with this withdraw or one poor round.

 

However...

 

I feel she is a young lady who has a talent, and that talent was nurtured until it was lucrative and then some in her camp totally botched it by turning it into a money grab. Now I feel she is being used by sponsors - at first her exemptions were of mutual benefit, but now it doesn't matter how much of a freak she appears, the sponsor's are getting their exposure, used by Team Wie as a cash cow. The only one with a bit of sense at this point seems to be Leadbetter and he was essentially shouted down by Team Wie.

 

In the end, Wie is handling events much like any teenager would. Sadly, the adults in her life who should be using these events to train her as an adult seem to have abandoned her in search of... other things.

 

... and that's all I've got to say about that.

[mat562]

Am I the only one with a recurring image of Al Czervik.... "Ooh! Ooh.... It's broken....!"

 

In all seriousness, I think the last post is just about spot on. I think Leadbetter has been the lone dissenter to the money grabbing machine of the last year, and, as you say, he's been shouted down.

 

I still say the PGA isn't a testing ground for wannabe phenoms, but a professional tour for male golfers though.

[webber]

Have her call Ty Tryon! :pardon: ;) :cheesy: :yahoo:

[TRAV1]

I feel she is a young lady who has a talent, and that talent was nurtured until it was lucrative and then some in her camp totally botched it by turning it into a money grab. Now I feel she is being used by sponsors - at first her exemptions were of mutual benefit, but now it doesn't matter how much of a freak she appears, the sponsor's are getting their exposure, used by Team Wie as a cash cow. The only one with a bit of sense at this point seems to be Leadbetter and he was essentially shouted down by Team Wie.

 

In the end, Wie is handling events much like any teenager would. Sadly, the adults in her life who should be using these events to train her as an adult seem to have abandoned her in search of... other things.

 

... and that's all I've got to say about that.

 

Yes, I totally agree.

[SheriffBooth]

I'd say that Wie is clearly a colossal brat with a huge ego that's been created by her parents, entourage and sposors. But I'd also say she's a colossal golf talent - it wasn't that long ago that she made it to match play in the mens Publinx which is no small feat.

 

She obviously could have finished the last two holes today and posted a big number and then withdrawn. Instead she backed out early to avoid the big number and falling under an arbitrary LPGA rule about non-members. If I were the LPGA I'd be thanking her for withdrawing rather than forcing them to make a decision to apply this rule and ban her.

 

Wie gets preferential treatment because she's a rare and unique individual. And she's not rare and unique merely because she normally is a very good golfer - that's just one element.

 

Backing out today was bad form, no doubt. But it's crazy to suggest she doesn't belong on the LPGA tour.

[mat562]

I think anyone who can get through Q School or earn their card through genuine sponsor's invites and good play deserves a place on the LPGA Tour.

 

Thus far, unfortunately, Wie has done neither.

 

Granted, she's played well in the past, but that was as an amateur and... well... in the past.

 

At present, she's no more deserving of a place than any other aspiring female pro - none of whom have the security of a multimillion dollar endorsement deal.

 

Despite all the hype, at this point in time, that's the bare facts I'm afraid.

[2005h4]

...103 replies, 1819 view, and 43 users are reading this topic as of now ....

 

phew!! I think she will continue to get invited to play tournament from sponsor's....

[Rife guy]

The 88 Rule ! Yeah the wrist might have contributed to her round but she knew where she stood and what was at stake .

[littlepingman]

In the end, Wie is handling events much like any teenager would. Sadly, the adults in her life who should be using these events to train her as an adult seem to have abandoned her in search of... other things.

 

Unfortunately, I agree 100% with that statement. We all wish this wasn't the case.

[DemolitionMan]

I am just surprised the manager was aware of the 88 rule and flagged down MW to discuss a WD. I don't have a problem with the WD. As posted earlier, it saves the LPGA and all of us the headache of applying or exempting the rule. However, I don't want to hear the wrist injury excuse in any great detail. Just say, my wrist hurt, I felt like I couldn't continue, so I WD. End of story. Looks like that is the plan so far and if the MW camp keeps quiet, then great.

 

What won't be so cool is if the MW camp goes on and on about this wrist problem and then tees it up next week at the McDonald's. So let's hope the story dies, then she tees it up next week, and fires a more respectable 78

 

Otherwise.....yawn....I am so past Michelle Wie....who cares really?

[littlepingman]

I am just surprised the manager was aware of the 88 rule and flagged down MW to discuss a WD. I don't have a problem with the WD. As posted earlier, it saves the LPGA and all of us the headache of applying or exempting the rule. However, I don't want to hear the wrist injury excuse in any great detail. Just say, my wrist hurt, I felt like I couldn't continue, so I WD. End of story. Looks like that is the plan so far and if the MW camp keeps quiet, then great.

 

What won't be so cool is if the MW camp goes on and on about this wrist problem and then tees it up next week at the McDonald's. So let's hope the story dies, then she tees it up next week, and fires a more respectable 78

 

Otherwise.....yawn....I am so past Michelle Wie....who cares really?

 

I wonder if she has a sudden miraculous recovery just in time to play next week? If her wrist is so bad she was hardly going to break 90 and had to withdraw from the tournament this week, I can't see how she is going to be all better by next Thursday.

[calc61]

PLEASE STOP SHE IS A PRETENDER NOT A CONTENDER!! stop with this !!

[tbowles411]

I just say...blame BJ Wie. I believe he's the one forcing her to play. Today she CLEARLY was not ready to play. He's going to burn her out. I think we're looking at another Jennifer Capriati.

[calc61]

O.K. what happens is she has sponsers that expect her to play well and pay her Lot's of $$ so if she shoots 88 and can't play on the LPGA for a year nobody wins so by WD she can still get sponsers exemptions and make sponsers happy. ie: SONY

[MrBlack]

this really has gotten to the point of being sad...it not evenn kinda funny anymore...

 

someone...please call DFACS

[enickma]

----Wie made a final bogey on No. 7. As she headed to the tee, she was stopped by her manager, Greg Nared. The two chatted for a few moments before they called an LPGA official to end the round. Wie wore bandages on her wrists during the round and said her withdrawal was because she "tweaked" the injury and not because of an LPGA rule that bans nontour members for the year if they shoot 88 or higher. Wie was two bogeys from that scenario when she stopped.----

 

"I had issues with my wrist," she said. "Shooting 88 is not what I think about."

 

uh huh ... yeah, sure okay. Let's go over this shall we ...... " as she HEADED to the 8th tee ( I'm sure she wasn't going there to tee off, or anything like that. Probably just a stroll to get some extra exercise ), she was STOPPED by her manager and they chatted for a few moments ( Hi Greg *hugs*, do you like my earings ? They were a gift from Phil Knight and are 10 carot diamonds .... uh, gee that's great Michelle. By the way, do you know you have 2 holes left, and if you are lucky enough to only bogey them, you are kicked off the LPGA tour for a year ? ), they THEN call an official over to end the round."

 

Of course shooting 88 never entered her mind, that's why she has a manager

 

BRING ON THE MEN AT THE JOHN DEERE!!!! LOL

[dcmidnight]

I think its odd they completely took her scorecard off the site...

 

http://www.lpgascoring.com/9379/scorecards/50624.html

I believe that is the way it works, once you W/D its as if you never played stats wise

[littlepingman]

I think its odd they completely took her scorecard off the site...

 

http://www.lpgascoring.com/9379/scorecards/50624.html

I believe that is the way it works, once you W/D its as if you never played stats wise

 

PGATour.com never does it that way. They still have the partial cards of all three guys who withdrew from the Memorial tournament up. I can't actually remember how LPGA.com has done it in the past, but it struck me as odd, since PGATour.com doesn't do it. They may just do things differently.

[hoganfan924]

First the "heat stroke" at the Deere, now this. I was a big fan of Wie's and even supported her playing in PGA events until that "heat stroke" incident. Now she withdraws from the Ginn because she was having a bad round? Completely pathetic. Unfortunately, in one year she's gone from being the darling of the sports world to the poster child for the worst of what is wrong with some of today's atheletes. If this girl never makes it big, it won't be because of a lack of talent, it will be strictly because of how she thinks. The female Tiger Woods? Hardly. The Ryan Leaf of golf? Looks like a real possibility.

 

I've carried my own friggin' bag in 105F heat for 18 in a tourney, and ground my way back in another tourney from a triple bogey on hole #2 to finish with a 76, and I don't have one tenth the talent of this girl and play off of a 3. I think she missed the lesson on honor and integrity and I'm no longer rooting for her.

[Milo]

All the fake positive spin she puts on crap rounds (and crap experiences) is going to hurt.

 

If she said, " As you may have noticed, my tourney game sucks but I'm going to fix it, just you wait and see", she'd be feeling a lot less pressure and much more positive. At the moment she's living a lie.

 

Keep that up at her age, with her exposure and her head's going to explode before she's old enough to drink.

 

Whatever happened the other day she's been in denial for some time and she's certainly in big trouble. People of Korean descent don't like losing face. Presently she/her team have lost face with just about everyone except a few die-hard fantasists.

 

Only some consistently solid play on the tour will enable her to recover. I reckon it's 50/50 in the short term.

 

Oh, and if her dad does not pull her out of the John Deer he's guilty, among other things, of neglect.

[archer]

----Wie made a final bogey on No. 7. As she headed to the tee, she was stopped by her manager, Greg Nared. The two chatted for a few moments before they called an LPGA official to end the round. Wie wore bandages on her wrists during the round and said her withdrawal was because she "tweaked" the injury and not because of an LPGA rule that bans nontour members for the year if they shoot 88 or higher. Wie was two bogeys from that scenario when she stopped.----

 

"I had issues with my wrist," she said. "Shooting 88 is not what I think about."

 

uh huh ... yeah, sure okay. Let's go over this shall we ...... " as she HEADED to the 8th tee ( I'm sure she wasn't going there to tee off, or anything like that. Probably just a stroll to get some extra exercise ), she was STOPPED by her manager and they chatted for a few moments ( Hi Greg *hugs*, do you like my earings ? They were a gift from Phil Knight and are 10 carot diamonds .... uh, gee that's great Michelle. By the way, do you know you have 2 holes left, and if you are lucky enough to only bogey them, you are kicked off the LPGA tour for a year ? ), they THEN call an official over to end the round."

 

Of course shooting 88 never entered her mind, that's why she has a manager

 

BRING ON THE MEN AT THE JOHN DEERE!!!! LOL

 

 

Well said. For a closer examination of what happened, along with an account of the shenanigans of Team Wie, check out Adelson's report on ESPN.com.

 

Adelson Report

[Charlie_Foxtrot]

I am constantly amazed at how personal some people take anything Michelle Wie does. Genuine anger and venom, not just analysis and/or criticism, from people who think they know better about a person who has won just as many tournaments as many LPGA players, including Natalie Gulbis (who, btw, looks like she will also miss the cut). More than a little presumptious in my opinion.

 

But this is the internet and people minds won't likely be changed, so I'll just make 2 points:

 

1. Regardless how you feel about her or her round, Michelle Wie gets points for standing up and talking to the media after a horribly embarassing round (even if it was painful to watch her speak because of the sheer number of 'you knows' - which I've now decided are her speaking 'crutch' when she gets nervous.)

 

2. Dottie Pepper (who has never been one to give false praise) said that Wie's tempo and swing during yesterday's practice round looked the best she'd seen.

[enickma]

I am just surprised the manager was aware of the 88 rule and flagged down MW to discuss a WD. I don't have a problem with the WD. As posted earlier, it saves the LPGA and all of us the headache of applying or exempting the rule. However, I don't want to hear the wrist injury excuse in any great detail. Just say, my wrist hurt, I felt like I couldn't continue, so I WD. End of story. Looks like that is the plan so far and if the MW camp keeps quiet, then great.

 

What won't be so cool is if the MW camp goes on and on about this wrist problem and then tees it up next week at the McDonald's. So let's hope the story dies, then she tees it up next week, and fires a more respectable 78

 

Otherwise.....yawn....I am so past Michelle Wie....who cares really?

 

I wonder if she has a sudden miraculous recovery just in time to play next week? If her wrist is so bad she was hardly going to break 90 and had to withdraw from the tournament this week, I can't see how she is going to be all better by next Thursday.

It's even worse than that! Did you happen to hear her interview after the "semi round" ? An LPGA official questioned her saying, "Michelle, thank you for coming in after your withdrawal from the tournament because of your wrist. Are you optimistic from here on out once your wrist does heal?" Wie's reply: "Yeah, it felt good when I was practicing, but I kind of tweaked it in the middle of the round a little bit. So just taking cautionary measures, and I know what to work on. The only way to go up from here is up, so I'm feeling pretty good about it."

 

The next part was where I couldn't believe my ears. Wie not only talked about hitting the practice range tomorrow, but TODAY ( after some more "staged" icing I would presume ). I'm sorry, but if you just withdrew because of an INJURY, WHY would you go to the range to "work on" some stuff, that very day no less ? You're supposed to be hurt dummy. What's to work on if you are injured, other than icing/treatment and rest .... especially if that's the excuse errrr I mean reason you are using for not finishing the round ? This stinks to high heaven, and has NOTHING to do with my personal feelings towards Wie ( I don't care for her much at all anymore ). If Paula Creamer pulled this crap ( who is my fav female golfer, and I doubt would ever try to pull a stunt like this ), I'd have the same outrage, if not more. Wie so far is a primadonna underachiever, who I am more and more wishing she'd get on with her life as a club pro

[rgk5]

My friend's Daughter Alena Sharp played with Wie yesterday and shot 70. Here is her post round interview.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2888679

[banistr]

I am constantly amazed at how personal some people take anything Michelle Wie does. Genuine anger and venom, not just analysis and/or criticism, from people who think they know better about a person who has won just as many tournaments as many LPGA players, including Natalie Gulbis (who, btw, looks like she will also miss the cut). More than a little presumptious in my opinion.

 

But this is the internet and people minds won't likely be changed, so I'll just make 2 points:

 

1. Regardless how you feel about her or her round, Michelle Wie gets points for standing up and talking to the media after a horribly embarassing round (even if it was painful to watch her speak because of the sheer number of 'you knows' - which I've now decided are her speaking 'crutch' when she gets nervous.)

 

2. Dottie Pepper (who has never been one to give false praise) said that Wie's tempo and swing during yesterday's practice round looked the best she'd seen.

 

 

 

I only counter 26 "you knows"....

[imsocrabby]

I just read that, and it's brutal. According to her playing partner, she was unfocused from the start. She's not having fun playing in golf tournaments, and that's a shame. Seems like all the money, attention and expectations have sucked the life out of a once-fun game for Michelle. It's a shame when you think that right now she could've been gearing up for USGA Amateur and Jr. championships, very likely dominating them and piling up trophies like a teen aged Tiger did, while looking ahead to crushing the competition on the NCAA circuit. Sounds like a blast to me, but maybe she'd rather go shopping with a black Amex card than be an amateur golfer.

 

whole-heartedly in total agreeance, you know.

 

 

her parents are to blame to an extent for allowing her to take the direction she took. but michelle wie is a living breathing human being. she accepted and cashed those checks from sony and nike. she believed the hype. she got sucked into it just as bad as the wie-niacs the media created. One victory and the media turns her into a superstar......that's fine. but you have to keep winning to remain there. she showed a lot of promise in her LPGA events last year. but again...last year. so to capitalize on some good rounds....she shows up on the PGA Tour? ability and talent not with-standing...turning pro at 16 was the worst thing she could've done. i would disagree if there weren't a viable, serious, competitive junior circuit for her to compete on. there are junior event everywhere....the USGA even offers a couple of prestigious "major" type events. (but she knows that....she won one of them). If she wanted to test herself against competitive men....she could enter the US Open local qualifying (but she knows that...she's done it) or battle it out in some mini-tours. that's how most men do it (and she wants to be compared with men anyway...so let's do that). It's been said time and time again....the PGA Tour is not a developmental tour for snot-nosed, bratty kids..........it's the elite professional men's tour for the best golfers in the world.....her record and her birth certificate prove that she isn't part of that crowd. Whoever told her that she needed to hone her skills there needs to be fired. David Ledbetter is not one of my favorites but....if I was him....I'd drop her as a student. And I'd put BJ Wie on call block.

 

 

 

 

What was with her laughing and saying how funny it was when she drilled a parked car off the tee? Yes, it may have been funny....but telling us that in a post press conference only seals the fact that she needs to be at the mall with her black american express buying up all the chandelier earrings from "Forever 21". Like...they're so cute...you know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* i don't know her. the public eye is a dangerous place. don't go if you can't handle it. entertainment has it's privileges.

 

plus....it's much more enjoyable for me to talk about her than...oh....say....the war in iraq.

[mat562]

I've just watched the interview...

 

Someone with a wrist injury that's caused them to WD generally doesn't start talking about practicing quite so soon in my experience.

 

Very dubious.

 

Also, I always thought Faldo had a severe case of the 'you know' verbal crutch in his heyday.

 

But Wie really does take it to another level.. I was ready to do a Keith Moon and fling the TV through the window after a couple of minutes of the interview (and a couple of dozen 'you knows.....')

[SwingMan]

I am constantly amazed at how personal some people take anything Michelle Wie does. Genuine anger and venom, not just analysis and/or criticism, from people who think they know better about a person who has won just as many tournaments as many LPGA players, including Natalie Gulbis (who, btw, looks like she will also miss the cut). More than a little presumptious in my opinion.

 

But this is the internet and people minds won't likely be changed, so I'll just make 2 points:

 

1. Regardless how you feel about her or her round, Michelle Wie gets points for standing up and talking to the media after a horribly embarassing round (even if it was painful to watch her speak because of the sheer number of 'you knows' - which I've now decided are her speaking 'crutch' when she gets nervous.)

 

2. Dottie Pepper (who has never been one to give false praise) said that Wie's tempo and swing during yesterday's practice round looked the best she'd seen.

 

 

Ms. Wie is a Professional Golfer -- she has not played well in a year. Most people want her to succeed. But even her most ardent supporters (except for a few, evidently) have abandoned short term hope for Ms. Wie because of the three ring circus that surrounds her.

 

1. She WD from the tourney immediately after her manager informs her of the 88 Rule

2. She WD citing a wrist injury

3. Ms. Wie is ready to practice one day later for next weeks major

4. Her daddy asks the caddy about Michelle's options after a bad shot

5. Mommy was the defacto coach this week.

6. She attempts to spin the media.

7. Hopefully, Ledbetter is slamming down tequila shots after spending last week with the Wie's.

 

As to your points,

 

1. I don't give her any points for appearing in front of and lying to the media (imo).

2. What is your second point? Lots of players, even ams, have great rhythm during a practice round and perform poorly when the money is on the table. Even Tiger is great on the range with a driver but has a difficult time on the course.

 

Most people did not detest Ms. Wie -- they did disagree with her parents' management of her career. Now that Ms. Wie is a professional, they are beginning to detest her lies to the media and indirectly, to the public.

 

It looks as if the Wie's cashed in just in time -- January 2006 -- before the horse came up lame. Hopefully, she will resurrect her career. But her game has only fallen apart since she turned pro.