Here Wie Go Again

The star-crossed career of Michelle Wie has taken another bizarre turn this week. The 18 year old has accepted a sponsor’s exemption to play in the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, a men’s PGA event, this week. What’s the big deal, you say? Wie has, after all, played in men’s events before. What makes this a bit different is that she is skipping an LPGA major in order to play with the guys this time around.

The Women’s British Open will be played this week and it seems some of the ladies on the LPGA don’t appreciate Wie’s blowing off one of their four biggest events of the year in order to play with the boys. Annika Sorenstam, an 11 time major champion and winner of 73 LPGA events, said that if Wie couldn’t qualify for this weeks’ ladies event she didn’t have any business playing against the guys. David Leadbetter coached Wie for years and said that she has a lot more to lose than gain by playing against the men at this stage in her career and faults her parents for steering her in the wrong direction.

The gents on the PGA tour seem ambivalent about Wie’s participation in this weeks’ event. David Duval said Wie’s attempts to play with the men, “has never bothered me in the least.” Though he did add, “I’m not sure the PGA Tour is the place to gain confidence. You can get your head beat in pretty quick out there.” Scott McCarron added, “I think it is great. It’s creating a lot of buzz for the tournament.”

McCarron’s comments actually get right to the heart of why Wie has been invited to play this week. The Legends Reno-Tahoe Open is, to be blunt, a second tier PGA event. The top 50 players in the world will all be playing in the World Golf Championships in Ohio this week. The highest ranked player participating this week is Ben Crane at #87 in the world. This is not a great recipe for high television ratings. The solution? Invite the one time phenom Wie. This creates instant buzz and controversy, generates interest, and might, just might, get some viewers to check out a tournament they would not care about otherwise. This is a move that has very little down side for the tournament sponsors. It is true that Wie’s attempts to play with the men have lost their novelty. However, it just may work one more time as the second tier field gives Wie her best shot at actually making a PGA cut. If not, it certainly won’t hurt the ratings.

Wie, herself, seems unconcerned with the criticism. She said, “All I’m thinking about is trying to play good golf.” I guess that is fair enough. However, I feel Wie needs to first establish herself on the LPGA tour before trying to mix it up with the boys. She has, or at least had, the potential to be one of the great women golfers of our time. Hopefully, she will realize this and get back to competing against the ladies. Otherwise, Wie could find herself playing the part of the Washington Generals to the PGA men’s Globetrotters on a regular basis. I would hate to think someone as gifted as Wie would squander her talents as a mere novelty act. Hopefully, somebody in the Wie family will visit the Wizard and get a brain. Otherwise, Michelle Wie may forever be remembered for what might have been.