LPGA Ginn Tribute - Michelle Wie's Round

[SwingMan]

Why relocate this thread now into the abyss of ladies golf talk where no one will see it?

 

It's Tour Talk -- not ladies talk.

 

imho.

[taylormadefan]

Why relocate this thread now into the abyss of ladies golf talk where no one will see it?

 

It's Tour Talk -- not ladies talk.

 

imho.

 

Isn't this topic about a female golfer? We've got an LPGA folder for a specific reason, and I think it's fun to check it every once in a while. Alternatively you can also click on the "view new posts" feature and go straight to the thread from there.

 

There's a ton of way sto skin a cat . . . hope that helps.

[taylormadefan]

This is an interesting article that a couple of people mentioned today on ESPN, pretty scathing and also shows a little controversy during the round about her dad BJ and the apparaent solicitation of advice. The rift seems to be growing between her and other LPGA players as well.

 

Wie's comeback doomed right from the start

By Eric Adelson

ESPN The Magazine

(Archive)

Updated: June 1, 2007, 8:12 AM ET

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Email

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MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. -- The Michelle Wie odyssey has gone from the curious to the bizarre.

 

The golf world eagerly awaited her return after four months of recuperation from a mysterious wrist injury, but Thursday's abysmal and incomplete first round only added to the confusion that has overshadowed her rare talent recently.

 

Questions about her injury went unanswered at her opening news conference Tuesday, as Wie channeled Mark McGwire by saying, "I don't really want to go back into the past and talk about the injuries." Had she in fact fully recovered?

 

Apparently not. In her comeback round at the Ginn Tribute on Thursday, Wie was 14-over through 16 holes before withdrawing from the tournament. Her swing, known the world over for its fluidity, looked cramped and stiff from the opening stroke. She did not release or follow through with confidence or flair. She guided her clubs more than swinging them, and her tee shots sprayed wildly. Wie started on the back nine and saved par on 10, but found water on 11 and snap hooked her drive on 12. She was 3-over after three holes.

 

Playing partner Alena Sharp said she thought Wie would withdraw at the turn. "She didn't look like she was there," Sharp said. "She didn't focus like usual."

 

AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain

 

How bad was it? With a bogey-bogey finish, Wie would have become a Rule of 88 casualty.

Wie landed in the bunker on 14, and next came one of the oddest holes of her brief pro career. She pushed her drive into the trees on the par-3 15th, then searched for her ball. Her mother, father, caddie and a family friend helped look for it before she called an unplayable lie.

 

Then Wie's father, B.J., said something to her caddie. More than one reporter present heard him say, "What about the tee?" Within seconds, Michelle decided to go back to the tee to hit again. She told her playing partners to putt out as she walked back to the beginning of the hole.

 

Playing partner Janice Moodie cautioned B.J. about Rule 8-1, which forbids a player from soliciting advice. "During a stipulated round," the rule states, "a player must not ... ask for advice from anyone other than his partner or either of their caddies." The penalty is 2 strokes. After Wie blocked her second shot and ended up with a triple-bogey, B.J. approached rules official Angus McKenzie and spoke with him for several minutes while his daughter moved to the next hole. McKenzie said later that B.J. had an explanation for the interaction, saying he was only asking the caddie, "What are the options?"

 

Technically, there is no rules violation because Michelle did not actively ask for help. But McKenzie told B.J., "When in doubt, don't."

 

Sharp had the same concerns.

 

"Anybody can say something from outside the ropes," she said. "But he was too close. He's always so close to her. You're going to get your daughter in trouble. Everyone at the range was talking about it."

 

Wie's body language began to match her game. She slumped her shoulders and sighed repeatedly. She showed little energy, even in the form of frustration, trudging along to her ball and taking less than the usual time lining up putts. She said almost nothing to her playing partners or to her caddie. And no wonder. Her round felt like a geological excursion, going from water to pavement to sand to tall grass.

 

Then came the bottom: the par-5 third hole. Wie's tee shot veered out of bounds, into a street and down a storm drain. LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens, who suddenly appeared on the fringe of the fairway, stood by as a little boy got on his hands and knees to peer into the drain in search of the ball. Wie played a provisional and hooked that into a pond. She walked toward the street in hopes of finding her ball, then turned and retraced her steps to the tee for the second time in the round. She eventually carded a quintuple-bogey 10, and she stood at 12-over after 12 holes.

 

Missing the cut became the least of Wie's troubles. The somewhat obscure Rule of 88 states that a nonmember who shoots 88 is forced to withdraw and subsequently banned from LPGA co-sponsored events for the remainder of the calendar season. Wie said later that she never considered the possibility, but soon after her score ballooned to 12-over on the par-72 course, her parents began consulting with each other and William Morris manager Greg Nared, who had a cell phone to his ear. Chris Higgs, the LPGA chief operations officer, soon drove up in a cart and spoke with Nared. Higgs had been talking about the Rule of 88 in the media tent, but he said he came out to Wie's rope line for "no particular reason."

 

Wie's score climbed to 14-over, and then, after she finished up on the seventh hole, Nared approached and Wie told him she was hurt. Moments later, she announced, "We're not going to play anymore."

 

Wie had a 43 on the front and was at 7-over 35 on the back -- two bogeys shy of 88. She shook hands with her competitors, glumly climbed into a cart, and rode to the clubhouse, where she met behind closed doors with her parents and Nared. The four spoke for 15 minutes, then an ice pack was brought in for Wie's left wrist. Wie then walked to the media tent without the ice pack.

 

So why did she withdraw?

 

An LPGA official answered that question for 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."

 

Later, she elaborated: "Well, I think that when an injury is in the back of your mind, you're thinking, 'Oh, this is going to hurt.' The last thing you're thinking about is trying to hit the ball straight.'

 

That, combined with her stilted follow-through, shows that her injury has not healed. Yet Wie did not shake her wrist or show any sign of discomfort during the round. Last season, she grabbed her wrist on several occasions, even during news conferences.

 

"She wasn't holding her wrist," Sharp said. "I think she just had a bad day. If it was her wrist, why wait until the last two holes [to withdraw]?"

 

That question probably will never be answered. Nor will the question of what happened with her father and her caddie on the fifth hole. "I don't know," Wie told reporters. "It's a long way back."

 

And it's a long way back for Wie herself. The withdrawal will not affect her world ranking, but she has not broken par in an LPGA event since July. That doesn't include all the trouble she has faced in recent men's events. The season's second major awaits next week at the LPGA Championship in Maryland, and Wie is currently "100 percent up in the air," according to those close to her. Whenever she plays next, Wie will face more questions about her withdrawal, her wrist, her swing and the involvement of her parents. But the most worrisome question might be about her state of mind.

 

"I kind of felt bad for her," Sharp said. "She didn't seem happy."

 

Eric Adelson writes for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at [email protected].

[HeadonaStick]

This is an interesting article that a couple of people mentioned today on ESPN, pretty scathing and also shows a little controversy during the round about her dad BJ and the apparaent solicitation of advice. The rift seems to be growing between her and other LPGA players as well.

 

Wie's comeback doomed right from the start

By Eric Adelson

ESPN The Magazine

(Archive)

Updated: June 1, 2007, 8:12 AM ET

Comment

Email

Print

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. -- The Michelle Wie odyssey has gone from the curious to the bizarre.

 

The golf world eagerly awaited her return after four months of recuperation from a mysterious wrist injury, but Thursday's abysmal and incomplete first round only added to the confusion that has overshadowed her rare talent recently.

 

Questions about her injury went unanswered at her opening news conference Tuesday, as Wie channeled Mark McGwire by saying, "I don't really want to go back into the past and talk about the injuries." Had she in fact fully recovered?

 

Apparently not. In her comeback round at the Ginn Tribute on Thursday, Wie was 14-over through 16 holes before withdrawing from the tournament. Her swing, known the world over for its fluidity, looked cramped and stiff from the opening stroke. She did not release or follow through with confidence or flair. She guided her clubs more than swinging them, and her tee shots sprayed wildly. Wie started on the back nine and saved par on 10, but found water on 11 and snap hooked her drive on 12. She was 3-over after three holes.

 

Playing partner Alena Sharp said she thought Wie would withdraw at the turn. "She didn't look like she was there," Sharp said. "She didn't focus like usual."

 

AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain

 

How bad was it? With a bogey-bogey finish, Wie would have become a Rule of 88 casualty.

Wie landed in the bunker on 14, and next came one of the oddest holes of her brief pro career. She pushed her drive into the trees on the par-3 15th, then searched for her ball. Her mother, father, caddie and a family friend helped look for it before she called an unplayable lie.

 

Then Wie's father, B.J., said something to her caddie. More than one reporter present heard him say, "What about the tee?" Within seconds, Michelle decided to go back to the tee to hit again. She told her playing partners to putt out as she walked back to the beginning of the hole.

 

Playing partner Janice Moodie cautioned B.J. about Rule 8-1, which forbids a player from soliciting advice. "During a stipulated round," the rule states, "a player must not ... ask for advice from anyone other than his partner or either of their caddies." The penalty is 2 strokes. After Wie blocked her second shot and ended up with a triple-bogey, B.J. approached rules official Angus McKenzie and spoke with him for several minutes while his daughter moved to the next hole. McKenzie said later that B.J. had an explanation for the interaction, saying he was only asking the caddie, "What are the options?"

 

Technically, there is no rules violation because Michelle did not actively ask for help. But McKenzie told B.J., "When in doubt, don't."

 

Sharp had the same concerns.

 

"Anybody can say something from outside the ropes," she said. "But he was too close. He's always so close to her. You're going to get your daughter in trouble. Everyone at the range was talking about it."

 

Wie's body language began to match her game. She slumped her shoulders and sighed repeatedly. She showed little energy, even in the form of frustration, trudging along to her ball and taking less than the usual time lining up putts. She said almost nothing to her playing partners or to her caddie. And no wonder. Her round felt like a geological excursion, going from water to pavement to sand to tall grass.

 

Then came the bottom: the par-5 third hole. Wie's tee shot veered out of bounds, into a street and down a storm drain. LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens, who suddenly appeared on the fringe of the fairway, stood by as a little boy got on his hands and knees to peer into the drain in search of the ball. Wie played a provisional and hooked that into a pond. She walked toward the street in hopes of finding her ball, then turned and retraced her steps to the tee for the second time in the round. She eventually carded a quintuple-bogey 10, and she stood at 12-over after 12 holes.

 

Missing the cut became the least of Wie's troubles. The somewhat obscure Rule of 88 states that a nonmember who shoots 88 is forced to withdraw and subsequently banned from LPGA co-sponsored events for the remainder of the calendar season. Wie said later that she never considered the possibility, but soon after her score ballooned to 12-over on the par-72 course, her parents began consulting with each other and William Morris manager Greg Nared, who had a cell phone to his ear. Chris Higgs, the LPGA chief operations officer, soon drove up in a cart and spoke with Nared. Higgs had been talking about the Rule of 88 in the media tent, but he said he came out to Wie's rope line for "no particular reason."

 

Wie's score climbed to 14-over, and then, after she finished up on the seventh hole, Nared approached and Wie told him she was hurt. Moments later, she announced, "We're not going to play anymore."

 

Wie had a 43 on the front and was at 7-over 35 on the back -- two bogeys shy of 88. She shook hands with her competitors, glumly climbed into a cart, and rode to the clubhouse, where she met behind closed doors with her parents and Nared. The four spoke for 15 minutes, then an ice pack was brought in for Wie's left wrist. Wie then walked to the media tent without the ice pack.

 

So why did she withdraw?

 

An LPGA official answered that question for 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."

 

Later, she elaborated: "Well, I think that when an injury is in the back of your mind, you're thinking, 'Oh, this is going to hurt.' The last thing you're thinking about is trying to hit the ball straight.'

 

That, combined with her stilted follow-through, shows that her injury has not healed. Yet Wie did not shake her wrist or show any sign of discomfort during the round. Last season, she grabbed her wrist on several occasions, even during news conferences.

 

"She wasn't holding her wrist," Sharp said. "I think she just had a bad day. If it was her wrist, why wait until the last two holes [to withdraw]?"

 

That question probably will never be answered. Nor will the question of what happened with her father and her caddie on the fifth hole. "I don't know," Wie told reporters. "It's a long way back."

 

And it's a long way back for Wie herself. The withdrawal will not affect her world ranking, but she has not broken par in an LPGA event since July. That doesn't include all the trouble she has faced in recent men's events. The season's second major awaits next week at the LPGA Championship in Maryland, and Wie is currently "100 percent up in the air," according to those close to her. Whenever she plays next, Wie will face more questions about her withdrawal, her wrist, her swing and the involvement of her parents. But the most worrisome question might be about her state of mind.

 

"I kind of felt bad for her," Sharp said. "She didn't seem happy."

 

Eric Adelson writes for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at [email protected].

At this point the "advice" is a non-issue - what are they going to do, DQ her now? Besides, a player has to ask for advice for it to b e a rules violation, and it is clear that MW didn't ask for advice, even if she chose to heed the advice.

 

In the future, Wie's caddy should kick BJ in the jewels before every round and when he has his attention, tell him to stay home and watch on television.

[littlepingman]

"I kind of felt bad for her," Sharp said. "She didn't seem happy."

 

I think those are very strong words. She looks completely unhappy in almost every picture I have seen since last year. I really do wonder about her state of mind as well. I think her problems are much deeper than any wrist injury. She really looks like a girl crying out for help, but no one seems to be listening. Its a sad sight. She is a 17 year old girl who should be enjoying what many people consider some of the best years of her life.

[sergizmo]

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 doubt her manager was aware of the rule before Bivens or some other LPGA official informed him of it. Most of these articles mention Bivens being on the scene when it looked like Michelle may not break 90. She was also outside the scorers tent when Michelle went to WD. This is no coincidence.

 

I don't buy that her wrist was the cause. She hurt it in February. She also said that she was going to the range to work on her swing. If she had a serious injury there is no way she would be going to beat balls.

 

And yeah, it's pretty much over for Michelle. At least before she is done with school. Surviving academically at a school like Stanford is not going to leave Michelle enough time to be competitive at the LPGA level. And four years down the road no one will care anymore. That includes sponsors, golf writers/reporters, and golf fans in general.

 

Once the free money and exemptions dry up Michelle will have to earn her way. She better lose that sense of entitlement real quick or her career and the memory of it will disappear.

[Ezgolfer]

Some of those` exemptions should go to Anna Rawson. specially if LPGA is concerned about attracting more crowd.

[HeadonaStick]

Some of those` exemptions should go to Anna Rawson. specially if LPGA is concerned about attracting more crowd.

The LPGA doesn't give exemptions.

 

There are plenty of pretty faces on tour. Wie's draw isn't her looks. Rawson doesn't offer anything "special" to create buzz.

[imsocrabby]

Wie's draw isn't her looks.

 

this is something we can agree on.

[sandy]

Wonder if any LPGA official would have told any other non "star's" agent/caddy that if his client/player shoots 88 she is gone for the year? At 16 with two pars she was headed for an 86 with two tough holes to play.

[cardia10]

Doesn't offer exemptions? What do you call it when she is "invited" to any tournament of her choosing, including the tour championship that everyone else has to qualify for? Anna Rawson has at least won a professional tournament. Wie is washed up before she even got started. She better work hard at Stanford, because golf obviously isn't going to be a moneymaking career choice. If she keeps this up, she is going to catch John Daly in WDs.

[imsocrabby]

Michelle Wie gets those invites from the sponsors of the tournaments....not the LPGA.

[SwingMan]

Why relocate this thread now into the abyss of ladies golf talk where no one will see it?

 

It's Tour Talk -- not ladies talk.

 

imho.

 

Isn't this topic about a female golfer? We've got an LPGA folder for a specific reason, and I think it's fun to check it every once in a while. Alternatively you can also click on the "view new posts" feature and go straight to the thread from there.

 

There's a ton of way sto skin a cat . . . hope that helps.

 

 

Sorry -- I did not equate "Ladies Golf Talk" with the LPGA Tour -- to me, Tour Info is any Tour - men or women.

 

But thanks for pointing that out -- I didn't know a Ladies Golf Talk Forum existed previously.

[HeadonaStick]

Doesn't offer exemptions? What do you call it when she is "invited" to any tournament of her choosing, including the tour championship that everyone else has to qualify for? Anna Rawson has at least won a professional tournament. Wie is washed up before she even got started. She better work hard at Stanford, because golf obviously isn't going to be a moneymaking career choice. If she keeps this up, she is going to catch John Daly in WDs.

The LPGA has nothing to do with the exemptions that Wie - or any other golfer - receives. Those are given out by the event sponsor and they are not given out to "deserving" golfers but to golfers who provide a benefit to the sponsor. Period.

[sergizmo]

Wonder if any LPGA official would have told any other non "star's" agent/caddy that if his client/player shoots 88 she is gone for the year? At 16 with two pars she was headed for an 86 with two tough holes to play.

 

I don't think they told MacKinzie Kline. She shot 86-89 and is done for the year.

[smithg1053]

This is definitely:

 

:D

 

This entire subject (not this thread...this subject of Wie) is sooooo old now. In the end...one of two things are going to happen in the gross spectrum of things.

 

1) Ms. Wie will never live up to potential (and granted, she does have potential) and eventually tournaments are going to find out that she doesn't draw the crowds like she used to, thus exemptions will dry up. She will fade into the fog of being forgotten about.

 

2) She will cowboy up and either win something for a change on an exemption, or will eventually have to earn her way into playing by getting a card or Monday qualifying. From there it is up to her and her abilities regarding whether she is a standout (i.e. top ten) player...or just a journeyman pro making a living.

 

Yeah I know the Wiener's are jumping up and down about Pressel and whoever else getting exemptions in the past...newsflash....Pressel has won...and a major to boot. We will see how she continues to play to see how that all turns out, but I suspect she will win again sometime. "Whoever" else was getting them isn't getting them anymore...and if Wie has a lick of sense she must see that the same rules and fate will eventually come to apply to her.

 

Yes...I know Tiger never had to go to Q school...another newsflash...he never had too. He won his first year out and has continually won tournaments during a given playing year since. Comparing the Wie and Woods is like comparing the combat abilities of a Cessna 150 private plane against a F18 Super Hornet....there is no comparison.

 

As a footnote...I hope at sometime in the future she wakes up and discovers that her father and mother need to be told in no uncertain terms that their "advise and upbringing" ceased to be an asset and they need to focus on their retirement instead of her bank account...if she still has one at that point.

[Hairpie]

This is definitely:

 

:D

 

 

 

As a footnote...I hope at sometime in the future she wakes up and discovers that her father and mother need to be told in no uncertain terms that their "advise and upbringing" ceased to be an asset and they need to focus on their retirement instead of her bank account...if she still has one at that point.

 

 

 

I couldn't agree more....My one and only hope for Ms. Wie is that when she turns 18 she tells her Daddy, et.al. to get their own life and she will now run hers....IMO they have never had her development as a player or a person as their motivation...It has only been about the $$ and it has quite possibly ruined one of the best female golf prodigys of our time.....Watching her press conference was painful.....From the "ME" attitude to the obvious spinning of the WD story she is just looking worse and worse....The backlash is only increasing and now the #1 female player in history is calling her on the carpet as well....She needs new management...and quick....

[joecollege]

I just finished watching the Mike Ritz interview on GC about Ms. Wie and I gleaned a few things:

 

First, Mike Ritz stinks as an interviewer. Boy he was accepting the story hook line and sinker.

 

Second, eventhough her parents are control freaks, Ms. Wie is an idiot. I saw her respond to Annika and then her response to the media and she needs her agent to speak for her since she can't speak for herself. Tiger would not have spoke like that to Jack not to mention that Tiger ALWAYS wants to win the Memorial (Bay Hill too) but then again Tiger has respect for the game and those that played before him. Ms. Wie.....Respect!

 

Finally, according to the segement, her parents were asked to leave the practice range and I guess they were alittle less than receptive. Spoiled elitetist? Boy now I know where she gets the silver spoon, I should get the excemptions attitude. Sad.

 

Just my .02

[Bill3508]

I've seen that press conference several times now and she absolutely acts like a spoiled child. She should not have been set up there for that interview as its done horrible damage to her character. Its like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

 

Bill3508

[Milo]

What's the betting that, like her last caddy, her agent gets fired in order to take the flack.

 

Let us hope that all those with grudges (real or perceived) against Wie come out of the woodwork now; all the bad news hits quickly and she can draw a line under it and move ahead.

 

Might need to solve some fundamental problems with those people advising her before it blows over. If the real problem lies close to home don't expect a quick fix. It may turn out to be a cultural issue at heart.

[joecollege]

Speaking of caddy, what ever happened to Fanny? I saw a tournament where she was on Ms. Wie's bag and then a few weeks later she was on the European Tour looping.

 

I know that Mr. Wie is a great caddy. How many majors.....BIG GOOSE EGG to Fanny's 6!

[RagingAardvark]

Speaking of caddy, what ever happened to Fanny? I saw a tournament where she was on Ms. Wie's bag and then a few weeks later she was on the European Tour looping.

 

I know that Mr. Wie is a great caddy. How many majors.....BIG GOOSE EGG to Fanny's 6!

 

Fanny is doing well caddying for Henrik Stenson I believe.