Wie

[Redhaze737]

May I ask if anyone on the forum has suffered from a wrist injury and returned to golf? I seem to remember Jim Furyk struggling for a while after his injury and it was only one wrist. It might take some time to gain the confidence to swing with the force you would like if your wrist is still 'uncomfortable'. Not trying to make excuses for Wie as I don't remember Furyk shooting 16 over or withdrawing. Just wondering how it feels to come back from a wrist injury.

 

Having said that, I think she'll be ok. Anyone who can stand up to all the BS around her during her short life is strong enough to keep on trucking.

[taylormadefan]

Looks like she's slipped under the cut line for now, but it'll be tight.

[2005h4]

May I ask if anyone on the forum has suffered from a wrist injury and returned to golf? I seem to remember Jim Furyk struggling for a while after his injury and it was only one wrist. It might take some time to gain the confidence to swing with the force you would like if your wrist is still 'uncomfortable'. Not trying to make excuses for Wie as I don't remember Furyk shooting 16 over or withdrawing. Just wondering how it feels to come back from a wrist injury.

 

Having said that, I think she'll be ok. Anyone who can stand up to all the BS around her during her short life is strong enough to keep on trucking.

 

 

you know what... that is an excellent point....

[WRXJIM]

I just have to laugh at the "Wie haters" Yeh she pulled an extremely "dodgy" move with her W/D last week, but in reality I think ALOT of people on here would have done the same if it meant they would not have been able to compete for the rest of the year... Smart decision in my books... Dodgy all the same, but it like taking a dive in the penalty box in soccer

 

... Its her lively hood, and she needed to protect that... Yeh its ruffled some feathers, but it will blow over, being out for the year would of hurt her more.

 

A few people need to get off their "high horse" if you ask me...

 

Mediocre??? Yeh, she is a very average golfer... ??? Ha ha. I wish I was more Mediocre :D

 

She has done VERY well coming in at 3 over after the week she has had, and it only being her second event in quite a while... We all know actual golf is MUCH better practice than just firing balls down the range.

[InspiredGolf]

Looks like she made the cut right on the number at + 3. Hopefully she will have a good weekend.

[dulce]

Lorne Rubenstein of the Globe and Mail is one of my favorite golf writers. However, this is a quote from an article I read today:

 

Before being injured, Wie had a great advantage over other players because she averaged 265 yards with her driver.

 

The quote is from this article http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...SportsGolf/home

near the bottom of the page.

 

Current LPGA driving average stats from LPGA.com

1 Karin Sjodin 276.8

2 Jee Young Lee 273.0

3 Suzann Pettersen 272.6

4 Sophia Sheridan 270.5

T5 Brittany Lincicome 270.3

T5 Sophie Gustafson 270.3

7 Lorena Ochoa 269.9

8 Laura Davies 269.6

 

According to the on-course reporter following the Wie-Lincicome match at HSBC last year, Lincicome outdrove Wie on nearly every hole.

 

After sitting at the 300+ yard par 4 7th at the Ginn in Orlando and watching a number of LPGA players hit that green with their tee shot, I think there are several LPGA players hitting their driver as far or futher than a healthy Wie.

 

So what other qualities allow a player to dominate a golf tour?

 

1) Ability to think clearly and play the right shot under pressure. Phil at the 18th at Winged Foot showed how critical this skill is. Jack, Annika and Tiger all share this trait. At the Match play last year, the on-course reporter commented as Michelle starred at her ball in the bunker something to the effect that it seemed that Michelle was frozen -- couldn't decide what to do.

 

2) Ability to dissect a course and play according. Finest example -- Tiger at Hoylake in 2006. I've started wondering in the past week or so, if BJ Wie did all the course management and analysis of the holes when he was on Michelle's bag. How much "golfing smarts" does Michelle have? Starting at the McDonald's last year the story started coming out how the Wie family wanted Michelle to take over the reading of putts. How much of the course management was moved from the caddie to Wie? How good is Michelle's "golfing smarts"?

 

3) Desire to play and win -- focus. David Duval -- he actualized his potential and fell off the map. Michelle had a gutsy shot or two in the Match play stretch against Lincicome. I see occasional flashes of "fire in the belly" but rewatch Tiger at his Amateur at Sawgrass when he was 17 years old. The eyes, the focus, the stalking of putts. Look at Annika when she moves quietly into gear -- the eyes, the focus. Look at Phil when he's in contention -- the eyes, the focus, the careful study of the line of a putt or a chip. Listen to Pressel, Lincicome and Creamer (Wie's peers) -- there's no doubt that they want to be the number one golfer on the LPGA tour. Michelle's all over the map -- college, PGA tour, Masters, Ryder Cup... Do you ever doubt that Tiger wants to play and win? When Michelle has proven time and again that she's not ready to contend on the PGA tour -- do you ever wonder if she wants to win?

 

Long post for two points.

 

The media is at least guilty of not comparing Michelle to the LPGA of today. I'm guessing that a healthy Michelle would be at least a top 10 in LPGA Driving Distance stats -- probably higher. But is she blowing it past everyone? Not Lincicome at the Match Play last year. And, what's the adage about drive for show & putt for dough?

 

I'll stipulate that Michelle has the physical side of golf -- great driving, good approach game, improving chipping and putting. But I don't see evidence that the mental/emotional side has developed. Will it develop? How much time does she really have for it to develop? Can she match or beat the following: Pressel major winner at 18 yr. 10 mon; Se Ri Pak 2 majors in her rookie season -- one at 19 & one just as she turned 20; Creamer 2 wins in her rookie season at 19 years; Lincicome 2 wins and I think she just turned 21. The recent trend in LPGA golf (unlike PGA golf) is the number of under 30 year old winners and many under age 25. Don't forget that Karrie and Se Ri had their dominant seasons before they turned 30. I wouldn't be surprised that if I took the time to look it up that Lopez, Inkster, etc had dominant seasons in their 20's.

[WRXJIM]

She is balming her wrists again for her poor showing...

 

When watching on TV her caddy doesnt seem to be very vocal... he never seems to say much and guide her... Perhaps she needs a caddy to essentially coach her through some shot planning/course managment, not just stand there and hold her clubs...

 

I could be wrong, but he doesnt seem to say much...???

 

Thoughts? She is definatly struggling along at the mo...

[dulce]

There was an interesting article last week or the week before with Greg Johnson who's now Brittany Lincicome's caddie but was the caddie the Wie's dropped rather suddenly after the Women's British last summer. I did a fast search but didn't locate it. However, and maybe I was reading too much into it, but I was amused by comments (and I'm paraphrasing) but something to the effect that it was nice to work for a player that wanted to use his experience and was willing to learn. There were other comments that made me wonder.

[dulce]

And, once again on how the Media misrepresents Wie, This from Karen Crouse, New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/sports/g...amp;oref=slogin

 

Wie has gained acclaim for hurdling age and gender barriers, playing in tournaments with women and men, most of whom were considerably older.

 

The emergence of Pressel, Park and Min during the four months that Wie was sidelined….

 

If Michelle (as an amateur) had limited herself to tournaments against the Women professionals, as Pressel did; then Wie and Pressel would be fairly equally known since both emerged at approximately the same time. Both were young, early qualifiers for the Women's US Open. Both received Sponsor's invites to professional events while they were amateurs. As for age barrier, the Song twins were also playing in professional events during their teens shortly before the Wie/Pressel emergence. So Michelle did not "... hurdle any age.... barriers." It's already been a long tradition on both the PGA and LPGA tours to invite promising young amateurs to professional events. And, Pressel "emerged" at the same time as Wie and actually might have gained more attention among those that follow LPGA golf when Pressel almost won the 2005 Women's US Open. Certainly, Pressel has the more decorated amateur career.

 

As for breaking gender barriers in golf that honor goes to Suzy Whaley who qualified for the PGA Connecticut tournament. Annika was next with her sponsor invite at Colonial. As for "hurdling" the gender barrier or receiving "acclaim" for doing so... Well, I'd say that Michelle has yet to hurdle anything on the PGA tour since she hasn't made a cut. And, if you're counting the Asian event where Michelle made the cut then Se Ri Pak preceded Wie in making the cut on a "men's" Asian event and actually placed higher in the tournament than Michelle did in hers. And "acclaim" ... well, that can certainly be argued. Do you "joyously praise" Michelle for playing in men's events. Personally, I'd pick "notorious" since I think she's become a bit infamous for her attempts on the PGA tour.

 

And, Na On Min "emerged" this weekend when Michelle was in the tournament, so Michelle was not "sidelined" during Min's "emergence".

 

And Angela Park has a very good amateur record. I've been watching her closely during her rookie LPGA season because her name came up many times in quality amateur events. But I wouldn't say she's emerged yet because her media time is still rather limited. Min garnered a substantial amount of TV time this weekend and played in the final round of a major.

 

Personally, I'd call the quote above "hype" because it implies that Michelle is the first to do these things and the truth is that she's not. But at the very least it's inaccurate.

[dulce]

One more thought on Wie. As I watched the Nadal-Federer French Open tennis match, it struck me that in tennis, it'd be nearly impossible to build a reputation without having already "proved" your ability. I always found it very interesting that after Michelle was beaten when she was in the US Women's Amateur final that it became inconvenient for the Wie's to participate in any more USGA Women's Amateur events. I'm not even sure that she defended her Public Links title. We don't have a good idea about how Michelle will compete against her peers (women who are 5 years plus and minus Michelle's age) because we've rarely had the opportunity to see Michelle compete against them. That would be nearly impossible in tennis because you'd have to be accomplished against your peers to be moving up to the next level.

 

I know Suzann at 25 is a bit outside what I defined as "peer" but my money would be on Suzann in a long drive contest between Wie and Pettersen. There's a high probability that Lincicome would win a long drive contest over Wie. So what other skills does a healthy Michelle bring to the table that surpass her peers?

[Hairpie]

One more thought on Wie. As I watched the Nadal-Federer French Open tennis match, it struck me that in tennis, it'd be nearly impossible to build a reputation without having already "proved" your ability. I always found it very interesting that after Michelle was beaten when she was in the US Women's Amateur final that it became inconvenient for the Wie's to participate in any more USGA Women's Amateur events. I'm not even sure that she defended her Public Links title. We don't have a good idea about how Michelle will compete against her peers (women who are 5 years plus and minus Michelle's age) because we've rarely had the opportunity to see Michelle compete against them. That would be nearly impossible in tennis because you'd have to be accomplished against your peers to be moving up to the next level.

 

I know Suzann at 25 is a bit outside what I defined as "peer" but my money would be on Suzann in a long drive contest between Wie and Pettersen. There's a high probability that Lincicome would win a long drive contest over Wie. So what other skills does a healthy Michelle bring to the table that surpass her peers?

 

She did defend her Pub Linx title....and got beat in the finals by a Chinese? teen....I remember the pics of her crying on Mom's shoulder..............I believe that was her last big Womens Am event....They obviously kept her out of them after that as to not deflate the hype.....

[Debit]

Actually, Michelle competed in the USGA Pub Links tournament vs. the USGA Women's Pub Links and made to at least one of the match play rounds. This was her attempt to qualify as an amateur for the Masters. She didn't try that one again and turned pro the following year. Can't imagine who thinks this kid plays public links courses in Hawaii vs. had some sort of sponsored membership to one the private clubs.