Wie comes up short again at the Evian Masters
It is hard to fault a 16-year-old phenom for being so close to winning so often. But,yet again, Michelle Wie could not close the deal at the Evian Masters. Wie has a two stroke lead after a birdie at 11, but then played the last 7 holes at even par. Laura Davies played those holes at -2 and Karrie Webb was -3 for that stretch.
Webb prevailed as the champion, finishing at -16 for the event. Wie finished tied for second with Davies at -15. More details are here from ESPN.
15 Comments:
This tournament was hers to win, but her lack of mental toughness really cost her again. The 16th hole; 110 yard par three she bogied it twice, air-mailing the green both times. On the 18th on Friday she hit driver, 9 iron, and then makes a pathetic eagle putt.
She's just so satisfied with herself.....soooo American!
You guys are so smart. "Yeah. Wie. She sure doesn't have the right stuff." Geniuses.
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I think it's lame when people criticize her supposed lack of mental toughness. And to call her smug? What are you talking about?
To put Wie's accomplishments at the Evian into perspective, let's compare her to Tiger Woods who at the age of 16 competed in his first PGA tournament ever at the Nissan Open. And how did he play? He shot a 72 and 75, missing the cut.
So chill out and give her the credit she's due. She's just a kid for chrissakes! What were you doing at age 16?
Don't you know? She is supposed to be "learning how to win" by playing in junior golf events and lapping the field every week. What an idiot she is. Now she has destroyed her confidence by finishing top 5 in every LPGA event she enters and being ranked No. 2 in the world. What a dummy.
See this is why the Wie apologists have no credibility. Minsuhson says she's actually more accomplished than Tiger Woods at the age of 16. Think so? Let's take a look. What has Michelle Wie ACTUALLY won? A single title, the US Public Links. Tarnished because she failed to defend that single title the following year, and tarnished because Public Links tournaments don't allow private club players like the US Amateur does.
Tiger Woods at the age of 16 finished winning the World Junior Championship four consecutive years in a row, 6 times total wining the 9-10 age group at the age of 8. At the age of 16 he won his first US Junior Amateur Title going on to win the next two years as well, going on to be the youngest US Amateur Champion at the age of 18, winning three in row, a feat not even Bobbly Jones would every complete! With the US Amatuer now only being played by young men, Tiger will certainly go down as the best Amateur Golfer the world has EVER scene. What lowly accomplishments!
Nobody doubts Michelle Wie's talent. However, the golf world only cares about winning. Precisely why tremendously successful golfers like Colin Montgomerie, Phil Mickelson, Scott Hoch, and Greg Norman are more known for tournaments they have blown, then they have won.
Win a few tournaments boys.....and then shoot your mouths off! Otherwise, just sit next to the Colin Montgomerie die-hards and discuss who's blown more tournaments!
What?
Mental toughness? For a sixteen year old?
Are you an expert in psychology or neuroscience? Can you justify your opinion by explaining how adolescents’ brains are hardwired for “mental toughness?”
“The golf world only cares about winning?”
Can you explain why the Evian Masters bothered to pay her $255,333 or why she earned $700,284 in 2006 according to Yahoo? Is that gas money?
Can you explain why the PGA prominently features Wie on their web site whenever they have the opportunity?
Can you explain why she has multimillion dollar endorsements from corporations like Nike, Sony, and Omega?
“She has signed endorsement deals with Nike and Sony said to be worth $10 million a year, and her first act as a professional was to give some of it back.”
“She also is a millionaire now, starting a career with two major endorsements with more surely to follow. Her deals with Nike and Sony already make her the richest woman golfer. Sorenstam, who has won 66 times and nine majors, brings in about $6 million a year in endorsements.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/05/national/main917086.shtml
“The golf world only cares about winning?”
In my best Dr. Evil voice: Right…
And by the way, she is a winner.
***And by the way, she is a winner.***
Which professional golf tournament has Wie won?
To repeat myself once again. Wie's family kept her out of the junior golf tournament circuit mostly because of the time zone difference between the mainland and Hawaii. It was a smart decision.
It's true. Wie is more of a prodigy than Woods. That's why she's interesting. For a 16 year old to be contending in adult events has no precedent in any sport. It's possible that she peaks right here and never gets better. That's why she's interesting to watch. We want to find out what her potential is.
Calygolfing clearly has some other kind of problem with Wie. Maybe he doesn't like women.
Time Zone Differences?!? If that is the case then why did she play the Canadian Tour and Nationwide Tour events in 2003 when she had almost zero chance of making the cut and would play just two rounds? Whereas in the junior events she would have been the heavy favorite to win.
And that is the reason she stopped playing junior events. If she did not win and win big, in the junior events she entered, the bloom would be off the rose and endorsement dollars down the drain. She lost in the 3rd round of match play in the 2003 girls junior am. She lost in the 1st round of match play in the 2003 womens am and the 2nd round in the 2004 womens am. So if she plays these events and wins, so what, she is expected to win. If she loses, the public starts questioning her. There is no upside to playing junior or any womens AM event, only downside. Meanwhile she can play in open events and since she is not expected to do well, as long as she does not finish DFL, it is considered a win. Open events are all upside and no downside.
Of course once she turned pro, the arguement of if she should have played junior events or skipped AM events to play in LPGA and open events is moot. We can argue if she would have a win or multiple wins or even a major or two by now if she had played these same events instead of the open events but even that is kind of null and void because who knows. Maybe if she had taken the path that Tiger and Phil and Annika took, playing and winning multiple AMs, Wie would now be winning everything she enters. Of course maybe the path she took, skipping these events in favor of those where she most likely would not win and in some cases had almost no chance of making the cut may have been the best course for her.
I would argue that the path she did take was the best for maximizing her endorsement dollars but not for filling out her trophy case and the best evidence I can point to is that she is by far the highest paid female golfer of all and she has not won a tournament, any tournament in over 3 years and that probably covers about 45 starts. I would also state that she has the most raw talent of any golfer, male or female, yet has a pattern of not being able to close the deal on Sunday.
I was thinking about this over the weekend. What is the most clutch shot she has hit in the last year or two, an important shot that she pulled off at an important moment? Sadly, I can not think of one.
No doubt, Wie still has to prove herself. Her situation now is very similar to Tiger in his early career. Despite his Hall of Fame amateur career and record Master's victory, he faced the same criticism during 98 and 99. During that time he only one one tournament, Bay Hill, and had no major victories. This was when Duval was on his tear and O'Meara won his two majors. Tiger was all over the media, signing huge deals. He was widely considered overrated as a pro, a guy who's game just suited Augusta. There was tremendous resentment over the money he made.
True, Wie has to shut everyone up now the way Tiger did. We will see. I know where my money is.
What's sad, 'AndrewsMad" is your very strange obsession with a 16 year old female golfer and why you obviously spend quite a bit of your waking moments thinking about her. You don't care for her, that's obvious, but what's not is whether your feelings result from jealousy, misogynist tendencies, or a dislike of Asians. Which is it?
I was going to reply to the substance of your post and then I realized, there is no substance, just name calling and unsubstantiated claims.
You are simply a troll. The lowest level on the blog food chain. Your post reminds me of a quote from the movie Billy Madison:
"Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response was there anything that could even be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
Question: Who is the person who goes off and writes pedantic 500+ word diatribes about how overrated Wie is?
Moron.
The same guy who won a dozen Nike One Platinums for winning the
September question of the month
and was also named
Best Commentator to the Golf Blog
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