Wie, Creamer & Pressel

[mallrat]

I don’t know why but I always kind of lump them and their careers together. I know that there is almost 10 years between Pressel and Wie but it’s still the way I see them. 
 

 How will golf and golf history view them? It felt like each was kind of the next big thing in US women’s golf and none of them had great careers, IMO. I feel like Morgan got the most out of her game, meaning her length was the most limiting. Maybe her career was about what it should have been but I don’t see how Wie or Creamer lived up to what was expected. I don’t know that Creamers career was as disappointing as Wie’s but I think she should have done more. Wie, well I appreciate who she is but how do you view her career as anything but unfulfilled promise. 
 

I would have thought at least 2 of the 3 would have had Hall of Fame careers but honestly don’t think any of them had a HOF career. Am I wrong?

[Shilgy]

Ten years between them?  All won a major
Michelle is 32 with 5 wins

Creamer. 35 with 10 wins

Pressel 34 with just 2 wins

 

But no…in their own way they underachieved.  All were largely injury related imo.  

[mallrat]

7 minutes ago, Shilgy said:

Ten years between them?  All won a major
Michelle is 32 with 5 wins

Creamer. 35 with 10 wins

Pressel 34 with just 2 wins

 

But no…in their own way they underachieved.  All were largely injury related imo.  

I didn’t realize they were so close in age but had such a difference in rookie years (Pressel ‘01 to Wie in ‘09 i believe.) After looking at your numbers I didn’t realize Creamers career was as good as it was. 
 

Wie’s retirement and having Pressel in the booth just got me thinking about it

 

 

[NJBigFish22]

I would say all there careers could be classified as underwhelming.  I think Michelle Wie would be biggest disappointment, cause she came in with the most hype.  At 1 time they were calling her female version of Tiger, so that leads to my opinion.

[naj959]

I was a little shocked yesterday when I found out Morgan only has 2 wins on Yesterday's U.S. Open coverage. Just shows you that good press goes a long way. Ten wins for creamer sounds about right to me. I never felt like she had the type of game that would be dominant for a long period. Wie strikes me as the type that was pushed into golf and played more for others than out of a fierce competitive drive. We all know about her parents so no need to deep dive. Watched the re-air of her U.S. Open win and it definitely left me scratching my head a bit. Seems like she's more passionate about other things then golf. Can't blame her for wanting to do what makes her happy. 

[Shilgy]

14 minutes ago, mallrat said:

I didn’t realize they were so close in age but had such a difference in rookie years (Pressel ‘01 to Wie in ‘09 i believe.) After looking at your numbers I didn’t realize Creamers career was as good as it was. 
 

Wie’s retirement and having Pressel in the booth just got me thinking about it

 

 

Wie and Pressel both turned pro in 2005…Paula in 2004.  Pressell qualified for the 001 US Open at age 12!  Must be where you got ‘01 for her.

 

4 minutes ago, NJBigFish22 said:

I would say all there careers could be classified as underwhelming.  I think Michelle Wie would be biggest disappointment, cause she came in with the most hype.  At 1 time they were calling her female version of Tiger, so that leads to my opinion.

Michelle’s unreal finishes in majors as a young teen certainly led to the hype.  And shooting 68 in a mens event at age 14 and missing the cut by just 1 added to it.

Not sure anyone could have lived up to the hype but she remained a huge fan favorite throughout.

[Shilgy]

6 minutes ago, Shilgy said:

Wie and Pressel both turned pro in 2005…Paula in 2004.  Pressell qualified for the 001 US Open at age 12!  Must be where you got ‘01 for her.

 

Michelle’s unreal finishes in majors as a young teen certainly led to the hype.  And shooting 68 in a mens event at age 14 and missing the cut by just 1 added to it.

Not sure anyone could have lived up to the hype but she remained a huge fan favorite throughout.

Addendum….

For those that did not experience it Michelle at LPGA vents was like Tiger at the mens events.  Huge crowds in her gallery, you always knew where she was on the course.

[ChronicSlicer]

43 minutes ago, mallrat said:

but I don’t see how Wie or Creamer lived up to what was expected. I don’t know that Creamers career was as disappointing as Wie’s but I think she should have done more. 

 

 

I've never been a fan of Wie or Creamer, but I suppose Paula had a pretty good career really. 10 wins is no easy task out there, 104 top 10's and 12m in earnings. That's not bad at all.

[chisag]

23 minutes ago, Shilgy said:

Michelle’s unreal finishes in majors as a young teen certainly led to the hype.  And shooting 68 in a mens event at age 14 and missing the cut by just 1 added to it.

 

 

... Tiger said he learned to win at an early age playing against his peers when he could have played much older kids. He was not a fan of Wie playing with the men or the LPGA for that very reason. Learn to be in contention and how to win when playing well, mediocre or poorly which of course is the mental side of golf. It certainly did not make him very likable as a human being at that time while Wie was very likable, so there is that. 

[Shilgy]

8 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

 

... Tiger said he learned to win at an early age playing against his peers when he could have played much older kids. He was not a fan of Wie playing with the men or the LPGA for that very reason. Learn to be in contention and how to win when playing well, mediocre or poorly which of course is the mental side of golf. It certainly did not make him very likable as a human being at that time while Wie was very likable, so there is that. 

I’ve certainly heard that mentioned often…..but then I’ve also often heard players should play the toughest competition they can get.  
So the easy answer is whichever one works best.  Part of the issue for Michelle was growing up in Hawaii.  There wasn’t nearly the junior golf available that Tiger had in California.

[golfortennis]

2 hours ago, Shilgy said:

Wie and Pressel both turned pro in 2005…Paula in 2004.  Pressell qualified for the 001 US Open at age 12!  Must be where you got ‘01 for her.

 

Michelle’s unreal finishes in majors as a young teen certainly led to the hype.  And shooting 68 in a mens event at age 14 and missing the cut by just 1 added to it.

Not sure anyone could have lived up to the hype but she remained a huge fan favorite throughout.

 

The men's events were the worst thing to happen to her imho.  For one it gives the impression she should be beating the women easily if she can do that in a men's event, and the other, it changes the conversation from how she performs in women's events to "how would they do against the men", and while it's politically popular to suggest there is a conversation to be had, there isn't, but it still puts pressure on a kid that age that they shouldn't have to deal with.

 

 

[woahnelly]

Creamer was a solid pro, her resume is similar to Shanshan Feng, and I would call neither of them a dissapointment.

 

 

 

[Medson]

If I remember correctly, Creamer is actually on the short side of driving distance even though she’s quite tall. That probably limited her upside. Just my speculation. 

[Shilgy]

2 hours ago, golfortennis said:

 

The men's events were the worst thing to happen to her imho.  For one it gives the impression she should be beating the women easily if she can do that in a men's event, and the other, it changes the conversation from how she performs in women's events to "how would they do against the men", and while it's politically popular to suggest there is a conversation to be had, there isn't, but it still puts pressure on a kid that age that they shouldn't have to deal with.

 

 

I think it was fine to play those events ….however….she would have been better served to have waited five years or so until she had established a presence on the ladies tour.  So I sort of agree and sort of disagree with you I reckon.

 

Ive always felt her parents were the epitome of helicopter parenting but I have always had the feeling her forays into mens events were what interested her.

[mallrat]

I didn’t realize Creamer got to 10 wins

[Lobby]

I don’t like this thread.  Too much negativity 

[OnTheBag]

6 hours ago, Shilgy said:

Ten years between them?  All won a major
Michelle is 32 with 5 wins

Creamer. 35 with 10 wins

Pressel 34 with just 2 wins

 

But no…in their own way they underachieved.  All were largely injury related imo.  

These three ladies are a great example of what happens when you push teenagers too hard for too long at any sport.  I was at the '01 Open when Morgan showed up.  I recall thinking to myself "A 12 year old?  Really?"

 

It seems to happen more in Women's Golf that in any other sport.  They start young and they as their bodies start changing, the injuries come calling.  Then they lose interest under the pressure of the grind.  

 

Guaranteed that all 3 were (and still are) better golfers than anyone on this forum, but I also agree that the hype and burden of being "The Next One" was a heavy load to bear for them.  

[gsrjc]

What would you say about Lexi then being pushed?  

[JamesWA]

Is Creamer's career over ? 

[Young Tommy]

Has Morgan retired from playing?  I don’t recall seeing her playing this year.

[golfortennis]

11 hours ago, Shilgy said:

I think it was fine to play those events ….however….she would have been better served to have waited five years or so until she had established a presence on the ladies tour.  So I sort of agree and sort of disagree with you I reckon.

 

Ive always felt her parents were the epitome of helicopter parenting but I have always had the feeling her forays into mens events were what interested her.

 

A lot of stuff interests kids that age.  A lot of it is very bad, at least for kids that age.  Hence why adults need to be stewards.  I'm thinking BJ got paid somewhere along the line, so what if he basically pimped out his daughter along the way?  I'm not sure it really was an interest of hers, but I could be wrong.

 

But it really is bad for women's golf when a player tees it up in a men's event.  A lot of people like to say "but it's a great opportunity" and "she gets to test herself", but remember, viewership goes a certain way for a reason.  And the more often a woman tees it up in a men's event, it cheapens women's golf, because rather than someone being a great golfer on the women's tour, it will become "yeah but how would she do against the men?"  Imho anyway, this is a very big "careful what you wish for" scenario.  You never see Elaine Thompson or Sydney McLaughlin line up against men on the track.  

 

But I do think there is a large portion of, similar to Nick Kyrgios in tennis, Wie wasn't necessarily all that into golf, but since she was as talented as she was, and in no small part likely keeping pops happy, this is what she did.  Relatively speaking, she didn't have to work as hard at golf as she would in any other endeavor to make the same amount of money, so that is what she did. 

 

 

[woahnelly]

10 hours ago, gsrjc said:

What would you say about Lexi then being pushed?  

 

Lexi is better than all of them. She's been top 10 in the world for a decade now. 

[Argonne69]

6 hours ago, woahnelly said:

 

Lexi is better than all of them. She's been top 10 in the world for a decade now. 

 

As much as it pains me to see Lexi take those gargantuan divots, she's managed to stay relatively injury free. She's probably one of the best conditioned athletes on tour, which certainly helps. If she would have been able to sort out her putter, she would have had a very long run at #1. She's been a top ballstriker for quite some time. 

 

[woahnelly]

4 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

As much as it pains me to see Lexi take those gargantuan divots, she's managed to stay relatively injury free. She's probably one of the best conditioned athletes on tour, which certainly helps. If she would have been able to sort out her putter, she would have had a very long run at #1. She's been a top ballstriker for quite some time. 

 

 

She'd have a lot more W's on her resume if it wasn't for that putter.  Tee to green, she's arguably still the best in the game. 

Edited June 6, 2022 by woahnelly

[Shilgy]

23 minutes ago, woahnelly said:

 

She'd have a lot more W's on her resume if it wasn't for that putter.  Tee to green, she's arguably still the best in the game. 

It would take a lot of arguing to get me to agree.  But I have to agree with those saying  with a short game and putter she’d likely be one of the greats.  
 

If she would have had Linblad putting for her this past weekend she’d likely have won.

[ChronicSlicer]

18 hours ago, Lobby said:

I don’t like this thread.  Too much negativity 

 

Where is this negativity, I just reread this 3 times and see none. Seriously, please point it out.

[Tasals]

30 minutes ago, Shilgy said:

It would take a lot of arguing to get me to agree.  But I have to agree with those saying  with a short game and putter she’d likely be one of the greats.  
 

If she would have had Linblad putting for her this past weekend she’d likely have won.

Where did Linblad end up losing most of her shots? She finished the tournament pretty close to perfect within 10 feet right, was perfect for 3 rounds I believe? That was a phenomenal performancez

[Raving Shanker]

15 minutes ago, Tasals said:

Where did Linblad end up losing most of her shots? She finished the tournament pretty close to perfect within 10 feet right, was perfect for 3 rounds I believe? That was a phenomenal performancez

Linblad couldn't chip! Her technique reminded me a little bit of me!!! And trust me, that is no compliment. That is where she lost it. Her green misses were costly.

[ChronicSlicer]

1 hour ago, woahnelly said:

 

She'd have a lot more W's on her resume if it wasn't for that putter.  Tee to green, she's arguably still the best in the game. 

With 20 career 2nd place finishes, yeah, it's probably safe to assume her putter has cost her at least a handful of wins.

[Zitlow]

Creamer had a lot of health issues, Morgan was her own worst enemy, Wie was done in by her parents and Leadbetter.