So close, but not to be for Wie
I had a chance to watch Michelle Wie play her front 9 on TV this afternoon, and what a joy to watch. She made 3 birdies in her first 5 holes, including a Tiger-like chip in from the greenside rough on her third hole. She rolled in a big putt to keep an ugly bogey from doing too much damage on her sixth hole, and followed with a stunning birdie on the closing hole of the 9 to post a three-under 33 for the side. I did not get a chance to see Michelle play her second nine (which was the course's front 9); after cruising along with five pars, Michelle went double-bogey, bogey on her 15th and 16th holes to drop 2 below the cut line and essentially end her amazing effort to make PGA history. Here is her scorecard.
Michelle's -1 total, after rounds of 70 and 71, left her tied with major winners Nick Price and Scott Simpson; it also left 48 other players at the John Deere having to contemplate being beaten by a 15-year-old girl. The full leaderboard, which has an interesting collection of names at the top, is here.
Though I think even another near miss is quite an achievement for Michelle — recall that Tiger playing as a 16-year-old amateur in 1992 missed the cut at the LA Open by six shots — I am disappointed that Michelle could not make it to the weekend. I am sure that the executives at ABC, which is broadcasting the John Deere this weekend, are disappointed too.
9 Comments:
No doubt. You can hear ABC wondering if they can bring her back as a sponsors exemption for the weekend.
What's with Hunter Mahan in his press conference saying that the other girls should be able to play on the tour, when none of them want to.
Maybe Hunter is hoping to be able to pick up a few dates while at the office. He'd risk committing a felony if he tried to put the moves on Wie, but some of the other rising stars are at least barely legal.
I know that I’m going to get hammered for this…. But Michele Wie for a 15 year old female is playing at the top of here game. There is something that I would like to point out that I feel everyone maybe missing. Females develop mentally and physically earlier then males (about four years earlier). Wie is playing at the level of an 18 year old male mentally and physically. I question that she will develop any more physical ability in the next few years. Just for an example review other female athletes from other sports and you will see a parallel to where I am going. A 15 year old male can not perform to the level of a 15 year old female. Michele Wie has a plan and that plan is to develop her playing experience as fast as she can, because other females will soon catch up to her mentally and physically and then it will be a cat fight. She is good for American golf and the more we see of her the more the youth of this country want to be like her. I further feel that junior golf is going to explode and we are going to see a lot of little Wie’s coming up through the ranks just like the Japanese & the Koreans have done in the last few years. The LPGA is going to have a crop of new talent and the will cause the LPGA to make there layouts more difficult for the competition. Nike knows how to manage the assets and it’s just a matter of time before Michele Wie will be bigger then the Tiger and the LPGA is setting it’s self up to make a lot of hay.
The 48 golfers that Wie beat have much more to contemplate than being beaten by a 15 year-old girl. They have to think about where and how they will make a living next year. For 2005, 15 of them have zero earnings on the tour; 13 rank in the 176+ category; 8 are in the 150 to 175 rank; 8 are in the 126 to 150 rank; and only 4 are in the top 125! Can we please focus on real golf competition instead of made-for-TV fake "accomplishments". I'll eat crow if she does anyting at the men's Public Links championship.
Yes...let's focus on that real competition between J.L Lewis and Richard Johnson, since they are players I love to follow on a weekly basis.
The only players worth notation this week before play were Cink and Toms, so by noting the rankings of the players she beats, you are merly skewing the stats to make a point, just as I could do by mentioning that she beat a prior major winner (David Duval), which means nothing.
You actually think that the fact that a 15 year old girl has narrowly missed the cut in two men's professional tournaments is not worth talking about? Despite "Just For Golf" saying that she is developed as an 18 year old boy, what 18 years old boys are competing at that level. The only comparison could be Kevin Na, and she whipped him. The fact that she can compete at this age already shows a possible forcast for the future, or it shows how outstanding a player she is. Either way, ignoring it is ignorant (how appropriate a catchphrase)...and it makes for far better a story to follow her progress than to watch a bunch of guys who had no chance to get into the Open Championship battle it out on the weekend. But...that is my opinion.
If a girl makes a cut on the PGA Tour, you are talking about an accomplishment occurring that would never be expected in the current game of golf. Fine...Babe did it in the 40s at the LA Open. Comparing that to today is apples and oranges. Recognize the accomplishment for what it is. It is incredible, whether you think girls develop faster (and thus, this should be expected), or that the player she did beat aren't competition for a 15 year old girl (thus it is not an accomplishment to beat 57 (you skipped the 9 who withdrew because they knew they were out of it)professional men golfers including Triplett, Andrade, and "phenom" Bads, and tie with the newest hot story Spencer Levin). Oh, and per the leaderboard, I count 9 in the top 125 she beat...and tied with four others. Do you truly believe that had she made the cut, she would have been the 2nd youngest ever, and that is not worth commenting over? I find that to be the incredible story.
hey webbman,
did you watch the TV coverage of the John Deere Sleeper today?
neither did we.
justfourgolf,
you won't get hammered when you make well reasoned points. yes, female athletes tend to mature a bit earlier -- you certainly see that in tennis, gymnastics, figure skating, etc. have to agree with powerfade's point though about the dearth of 18 year old male talent on the tour.
you also make an interesting point about Wie wanting to get a jump on her LPGA competition. not convinced that that's her true motive, but Tiger certainly seemed to have an "everyone-else-better-elevate-their-game" effect on the men's tour.
A sda day for golf. On the 12th hole of her second round Wie pulled her tee shot to the par 3 as the ball landed in the rough and proceeded to travel left a spectator wearing an Hawiian shirt intentionally kicked the ball back towards the green the ball coming to rest with a perfect lie in the rough...Wie then hit a brillient clip for birdie...the fan was later interviewed and claimed that as a college linebacker he surely was not going to let the ball get by him...Phil Blackmar on the TV commentary spoke of the help Wie recieved...Wie in an interview thanked the spectator...the problem Rule 19.1 decision 4.1 clearly states that if a spectator on a shot through the green intentionally interferes the play is obligated to place the ball in a spot to be determined with the help of the committee where the ball was likely to have come to rest. Read the rule it is clear on this point. I have a sick feeling since the TV refused to show the replay that the monetary importance of Wie took precidence over the rules. She should be disqualified for signing a wrong score card you can't have fans acting on the behalf of popular players and getting out of the way for everyone else or someone they do not care for. The rule is clear and the comment that the ball struct the man in the leg above the knee is a coverup. Now it is possible she did not see the infraction but a bunch of people did and as was the case when JL Lewis hit it in the pond on 18 Sun the rules official asked the gallery and the TV for help in establishing a proper entry point. Michelle cheated.
Micelle Wie should be disqualified from the John Deere. On the 12 th whole she clearly and in plain view failed to comply with rule 19.1 4.1. A spectator intentionally kicked Wie's errant tee shot on the par 3 back towards the green. She then hit a great chip to make birdie. The rest of the field was damaged by this action and golf was diminished. The TV announcers all commented on the fan help she recieved. The man commented in the press that he had played linebacker and was not going to let the ball go by. Wie thanked him in the paper for his help. I an afraid that this infraction was intentionally overlooked for monetary reasons. A sad day for golf. Watch the replay, which they refuse to show, and you will see a clear violation. You can not have fans assisting players intentionally, any suggestion that it hit the man and bounced off him is silly and contrary to the pictures and his comments.
Outside of whether the statistics are included in her averages, does it matter whether she is disqualified or missed the cut? It seems like an argument more suited if Wie had made the cut. Also, I agree that the officials made an error here. Wie stated that she did not see it happen when it did, but after she signed the scorecard. As for the fan...it definitely wouldn't be in my top 10 for idiotic fans I've seen on the course (my top nightmare is that usual suspect following Tiger who yells "Go in the hole!!!" at the top of his lungs after every shot).
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