Posted by admin | Posted in Golf Instruction | Posted on 23-04-2010
Wie Will Rock The Golf World
From the time her sweet swing marked her for future stardom at the age of 12, Michelle Wie has been the subject of almost constant controversy in Golfing circles. Pressured by continuing references to her as “the next Tiger Woods.”
Wie’s very presence at an event usually sparks a continuing round of questions. Were her parents ruining their daughter’s childhood by encouraging her to play against male professional golfers? Why was she so standoffish in her dealing with fans, or with the media? Why did she rate special treatment everywhere she went?
HERE’S WHY
Wie won the Women’s Amateur Public Links tourney at 13, making her the youngest player ever to have won a USGA championship for adults. The very fact that she has become a central element in conversations about both men’s and women’s golf speaks to the unique skills she brings to the game.
According to Davis Love III, Michelle “has one of the best golf swings I’ve ever seen. Period.” Says Freddie Couples: “When you see her hit a golf ball, there’s nothing that prepares you for it. It’s just the scariest thing you’ve ever seen. Her talent is amazing.”
In 2005, at the tender age of 15, and eligible to play only invitational events, Wie finished second at the SBS Open at Turtle Bay. She also turned in a second-place finish at the LPGA Championship and followed that up by becoming the first female golfer to qualify for a USGA national men’s tournament when she shared first place at the U.S. Amateur Public Links qualifier. Then, at the U.S. Women’s Open, she managed to remain among the leaders until the final day. The very next week, she received a sponsor’s exemption to the John Deere Classic on the Pga Tour and justified her selection by missing the cut by a mere two strokes. At the Men’s Public Links, she made it to the quarterfinals before losing, then tied Lorena Ochoa for second place at the Evian Masters. Finally, she tied for third at the Women’s British Open. If she’d been a professional that year, she would have finished eighth on the LPGA money list with earnings of $644,024.
Not bad for a kid with a part-time job.
HANDLING PRESSURE
In this, her rookie season on the Lpga Tour, she has won more than $500,000, logged more top-10 finishes than anyone else, been named to the Solheim Cup team and proceeded to outplay every member of both the European and American teams. Had the tourney awarded a most valuable player trophy, it would be hanging in Michelle Wie’s den.
After selecting Wie as a captain’s choice for the team, Beth Daniel stated the obvious: “Michelle accumulated her points in a single year, while everyone else had two. It was a no-brainer.”
Indeed.
Still, critics complained, Wie hadn’t won anything lately. She’d never proven she could finish.
On Sunday, she put an end to such talk.
At the very point where her critical match with Helen Alfredsson was in doubt, Wie took control when she hammered a 305-yard drive down the middle of the fairway on the par-5 15th, then followed with an 8-iron to the green. Even when Alfredsson won the 17th to pull within 1, Wie seemed oblivious to the pressure. Again reaching the green in 2, she calmly two-putted to secure the match and, for all intents and purposes, the Solheim Cup championship for the United States.
WHAT’S NEXT?
At the Solheim Cup, Wie proved that she is both likable and popular – attributes once roundly denied by media and the golfers themselves.
Now that Wie has shown she can, indeed, finish there’s no telling how far and how fast she will fly.
Not to belabor the obvious, but Michelle Wie is a marketing phenomenon. Her talent, combined with her performance at Rich Harvest Farms, has turned her into the mother lode of all PR campaigns. The teenager from Hawaii possesses the raw talent, youth and incredible good looks to become the most important female golfing presence of her generation.
How’s that for pressure?
Michelle Wie: Golfer, Yes; Fashion Designer, Yes
About the Author
Gary Player “The Black Knight”…His final appearance at the “Masters” Golf Tournament