A Wie bit overmatched

jaxvid

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The Wie hype machine has started early as she, for some unknown reason, was playing in another men's tournament,in Hawaii. True to form she played horribly. Finally a writer criticizes her in the article below but he failed to mention the reason she is so big is that writers like him hype her up so much. They should get on the Paula Creamer bandwagon. Young, pretty and a WINNER!

A Wie bit overmatched

By Larry Beil, Yahoo! Sports
January 13, 2006

This is getting a little old, for us and probably for Michelle Wie as well. Wie arrives with huge fanfare, ready to take on the men again. The gallery is buzzing with her every move. The statuesque 16-year old literally has the world watching. But when all is said and done, it's another missed cut, her game not nearly living up to the hype or the hope.

That was the story again at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Wie crumbled with an opening round 9-over par 79, killing any realistic chance of reaching the weekend rounds, even though her 3-under 67 on Friday made things interesting. "It was like, Wow," said Michelle on Thursday. "It's like, 'I can't believe I'm doing this bad."

Wie is serious about living up to her potential, somehow combining high school with golf practice and trying to lead a "normal" life as a teenager. Her dedication is not in question - a more serious workout regimen left her so sore at first, Michelle could barely lift her arms.

The sweets and junk food are gone, so you knew how serious a meltdown occurred on Thursday when Wie saw her name at the very bottom of the leaderboard and decided, "I want some chocolate."

Wie is guaranteed millions of dollars a year thanks to endorsement deals that will make her eventual golf earnings seem like chump change. From a financial standpoint, she already has it made. The question is how long it takes Wie's skill to catch up with her bank account.
The fact that any 16-year old, male or female, can stand at the tee and trade drives with Vijay Singh and Ernie Els, is impressive.

But hanging with the pros is not enough at this point. Making the cut at a men's event would be a breakthrough. So would winning an LPGA event. But neither of those things has happened yet and you have to wonder if trudging into the clubhouse dead last is the most prudent road to the top.

Playing occasional PGA Tour events makes the challenge more difficult. Wie can't develop any consistency dropping in when the schedule allows or a sponsor's exemption is offered.

The exemption is the double-edged sword. Nobody pays attention to the John Deere Classic until Wie shows up. Then, suddenly, a low profile event in the middle of the summer becomes must-see TV. So it's in the best interest of tournament directors to invite Wie and just as tempting for her to participate against a field that isn't fully loaded.

Even if Wie misses the cut, the tournament gets incredible exposure and Wie gets another couple of rounds playing with the big boys.

Michelle is supposed to be the female version of Tiger Woods. But Woods won a Junior World Championship title at age 8 and won a slew of amateur tournaments (including three consecutive U.S. Amateur Championships) before turning pro. When Woods did join the PGA Tour, he knew how to win.

Outside of her victory in the Women's Amateur Public Links when she was 13, Wie is still trying to figure it out.

And it's a lot tougher learning the ropes now, when the gallery is stacked six rows deep with everybody waiting to see something spectacular.

There's no doubt about Wie's talent, determination or appeal. But the rush to fame and fortune may have come too fast.

Personally, I hope Michelle makes a cut or wins a professional event soon - or the pressure will become unbearable. That's more than any teenager should have to endure - no matter how big the bank account.
 

Don Wassall

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The course that the Sony Open is played on inHawaii is basically Wie's home course. She plays it year round, yet is missing the cut on it for the third straight year. It's the ideal course for her to make a men's cut, but she can't.


After the first round, my local paper's headline was "Wind Causes Wie to Shoot 79." No, Michelle Wie having a bad round resulted in the79. But the media hype is unbearable. I've watched a little of the coverage on ESPN, and each day it starts with nothing but highlights of Wie from every hole. The men, including the leaders, are afterthoughts. It's almost exactly the same as the absurd over-coverage that Tiger's every shot, grimace and occasional smile gets.


Notice too how the announcers are so whipped that they constantly refer to the 16-year-old Wie as a "woman." She's obviously a young girl, but they don't dare call her that, so trained are they in feminist jargon. You can practically see the whirring going on in their brains when they talk about her, so careful, much like when Tiger is discussed, to spew forthall the right compliments and make sure nothing comes out that could possibly be construed the wrong way.
 

White Shogun

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Sometimes I feel like this site is the internet equivalent of the boy in the fairy tale, "The Emperor's New Clothes."
 

jaxvid

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White Shogun said:
Sometimes I feel like this site is the internet equivalent of the boy in the fairy tale, "The Emperor's New Clothes."

Ya know, I think the same thing, that's a good way of saying it. I watch all this crap going on and I think to myself, this is such BS! Why doesn't anyone challange it? I know other guys feel this way, I've heard them talk about it! But it is virtually ignored elsewhere. The Wie overhype, the "real" James Dungy, the whole caste system, everybody sees it but no one says anything (except here). Sheesh!
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