Dear Michelle Wie: practice
After a 5-over round in which she failed to convert a number of makeable birdie opportunities, Michelle Wie needs to regroup. In fact, she was the only player among the 138 players who failed to card a single birdie in her round. She currently is in 124th place.
Looking at Michelle’s Round 1 statistics, it’s quite obvious what is the biggest weakness of her game: putting. 34 putts yesterday is 10 more putts than the best PGA player struck yesterday, and is a number so large that it doesn’t even register in the 200 listings of PGA tour player averages. For the tournament, 34 putts was tied for the second to worst — 4 PGA players had 35 putts. Time to change that balky Nike putter, or call in putting guru Stan Utley.
And, once this tournament is over (most likely, today), the Wie camp needs to regroup. Its strategy is not working. Michelle’s weaknesses are being exposed every time she tees it up with the men, yet there’s little sign that anything is being done to address those weaknesses. In fact, after a few close calls in making a PGA cut, Michelle seems to have gone in reverse. Next year, Michelle Wie should only play one PGA event, the Sony Open. It’s played on the course she’s most familiar with, has come the closest, and has the home court advantage. Getting an LPGA victory should be priority No.1.
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