Michelle Wie no longer to play PGA events.
David Leadbetter announced that Michelle Wie won't be playing any more PGA events, at least for this year. "She's going to commit herself to the LPGA and play a number of events, and next year she'll probably take up membership." (more here)
Thank heavens David Leadbetter finally talked some sense into the Wie camp. I've been waiting to see when this would happen. If the guy is really a teacher and gets paid millions, he needs to protect his pupil and not let her get thrown under the bus.
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10 Comments:
That's correct to some extent, but the fact is she is "slumping" right now. When she was challenging for victories in LPGA majors as a 14 year old, it made some sense to throw her into a PGA tournamnet to see how she would do. They were definitely some financially related publicity reasons for doing that. It's hard to imagine why those choices would have been made based solely on golf development for a young woman.
I think way too much has been made of Wie's decision to skip junior golf. This had as much to due with her geograhical location as anything. The travel to and from Hawaii would have been ridiculous in terms of flight times and jet lag. Too much for a 12 and 13 year old. Any why? To "learn how to win"? That's a load. Wie would have gained nothing from trouncing her peers at that age. She's right where she belongs now - on the LPGA tour. How about everybody wait until she gets out of high school and can play a normal schedule before they start leaping to judgement of Wie's "winning" potential?
Daryl, don't hurt yourself!
Who won the Women's US Amateur last year?
Again, don't hurt yourself. it was Kimberly Kim....from Hawaii!
Nobody.....nobody will say right now that she's where she belongs! Where she belong right now is where Morgan Pressel is at, with multiple victories under her belt including a 1st and a 2nd at a Major, and a US Amateur Championship.
Michelle Wie has done the unthinkable, she's caused her supporters to stop supporting her in just a few years!
This change in philosophy is likely coming from NIke because they have seen her stock prices fall like a brick for the last year. She's 17 years old, and already "Picking up the pieces." That's not right. She's got too much going for her, and has had too much pressure thrown in her lap. BJ thought this methodology would take the pressure off, and they could cash-in early. Problem is, they didn't let the girl learn to be a tough competitor, and now she's obviously lost confidence.
How could a 17 year old girl with as much talent as any female player who's every played (except The Babe) loose her confidence? Because she DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO WIN!
I still don't get it. I don't think she's been harmed by her strategy at all. What's the problem? She hasn't finished 1st in the handful of LPGA events she played in? She didn't make the cut at the 2 or 3 men's events she played in? So what? There isn't anything wrong with her confidence. Looks like right now her game has gone downhill a bit. Nothing unusual about that. She's got to prove herself out on tour still, no doubt, but she won't have a chance to do that until she gets out of high school and can play a schedule equivalent to her peers (ie without two month layoffs to attend school and such.)
Meanwhile, the rush to harsh critical judgment will continue. It's not hard to detect that intense jealously, misogny and yes, racism that tinges most of the aggressive male commentary on this subject.
(By the way, if you don't think the geographical location of home base isn't a huge consideration in all professional players lives, consider that 90% of PGA pros live in Florida. It's not just for the weather. It's in a good time zone location and there are a bunch of tournaments in the state. Travel kills these guys.)
One more thing. Maybe Kimberly Kim would have preferred to pursue Michelle's strategy, but didn't have the option. Michelle has enough talent that she didn't have participate in the junior circuit, thus preserving more normalcy during her childhood. Good decision overall, I think. Was able to stay home more during this important stage of life and made a ton of money to boot because of smart marketing. Time will tell if she will fail as a professional because she didn't learn how to win as an amateur. I highly doubt it, that's all.
Yea, I completely agree. The PGA Tour is played on championship courses designed for the men. If she wants to play in these tournaments she would have to play from the women's tees to have any chance and that would never be allowed. Isn't that why the women's tees are closer? Because they don't hit the ball as far and need a handicap.
Daryl
What has Michelle ever won? hmmmmmm....
Daryl,
You may want to get your facts straight... she has played over 30 LPGA events and at least 10 "mens", Open professional events.
Daryl (or should we call you BJ??),
I'm not in the habit of ripping fellow posters on here, but...
Your lack of golf knowledge and apologist position for Michelle Wie is frankly embarrassing. You're obviously the type person who doesn't let the facts get in the way of a good argument. Do you play golf? Do you have a clue?
Yours was one of the lamest posts I've ever read on this site and that's saying a lot.
Michelle who?
Michelle who... I like that. THis is good.
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