michelle wie
Michelle Wie has become the youngest player to ever play in a PGA event on the men’s tour. This child prodigy is only 14 years old (though 6 foot tall) and in her first year of high school, yet she is competing at the Sony Open against some of the best male professional golfers in the world.
Don’t think this is just a gimmick. Michelle can drive the ball over 300 yards, which some of the men on the tour can’t even do. (Tiger Woods challenged her to a driving contest after meeting her for the first time last week and noticed that she’s taller than he.) Her swing fundamentals are so technically sound that they make me envious (nobody should be that good, at least not if so young). Today, she shot a very respectable 72, which is 2 over par. She scored better than 29 male professional golfers, and tied the reigning PGA champion Shaun Micheel! Whether or not she makes the cut won’t matter to me. She’s already proven to me that she has the greatest promise of any golfer out there right now, either on the men’s or women’s tour. One day she may even have a greater impact on golf than Tiger. I know that’s hard to believe, and, as a huge Tiger fan, it’s hard for me to admit, but there’s no denying her talent. She’s that good.
UPDATE: In her second round, Michelle shot an impressive 68, 2 under par, but missed making the cut by just 1 stroke. She did beat 48 male professional golfers, including the young guns Adam Scott and Hunter Mahan and likes of veterans Craig Stadler and John Cook. Her overall score of even par tied the likes of (1) the reigning US Open Champion Jim Furyk, (2) the reigning British Open Champion Ben Curtis, (3) the reigning NEC World Golf Champion Darren Clark, and (4) Kenny Perry, who won 3 times last year and was in contention for player of the year. Wow.
So I rest my case, but with one small revision. If Michelle continues on her current trajectory, she will have a greater impact on golf than Tiger. Her goal is to play in the Masters golf tournament, perhaps the most prestigious of all the majors but traditionally only for the men. Based on what I’ve seen, you better not bet against her. She has all the tools and talent to break down the male barrier in golf.
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