I’m worried about Michelle Wie and all of these young phenoms that seem to be following her into a sea of uncertainty. More to the point, shame on their parents for letting them get so close to shark-infested waters.
If there ever was a poster girl for overexposure at too young of an age, it’s Wie. Thank goodness someone among her traveling circus came to their senses this week and talked the 17-year-old out of playing in another PGA Tour event, in this case the John Deere Classic.
In you hadn’t noticed, things in the Wie camp were spinning way out of control. That was especially true on the golf course, where Wie had averaged 78.6 strokes per round in her last five tournaments against the men. Hey, she hasn’t broken par in a professional tournament – against men OR women – since July of 2006, when Wie led the Evian Masters with six holes to play but failed to get the job done.
Actually, that storyline – “close but no bubble-gum cigar’’ – has been the theme since Wie began headlining the game’s kiddie corps. In the beginning, everyone yearned for the “Big Wiesy’’ – then a 13-year-old -- to do well. But four frustrating years later, I’m not so sure.
I do know where Wie fits in on the LPGA. The players see her, basically, from two vastly different points of view. Either she is the unwitting pawn of her father, B.J. Wie, or she’s a greedy little brat who is hauling in $20 million a year.
Either way, the perception is not good. From Wie’s disqualification in her very first tournament as a pro for not knowing the rules, to her latest fiasco with the Rule 88 controversy, the on-course education of Wie has been an unrelenting school of hard knocks. Her current frown says it all.
Or as Annika Sorenstam said of Wie’s most recent double bogey: “I just feel there is a little bit of a lack of respect and class on her part.’’ To which Wie responded: “I don’t think I owe an apology to anyone.’’
OK, so it’s Michelle Wie’s life. At the same time, think of all the innocent kids who want to be just like her. I doubt many of those youngsters can sort through all the fact and fiction to get a true perspective on how really difficult it is to play the game professionally and live the high-stress life that goes with it.
I only wish someone could have talked Scottsdale’s Esther Choe out of turning pro, at least for a year or two. Too bad the 17-year-old gave back her scholarship to the University of Arizona, because someday Choe might have enjoyed the legacy of being one of UA’s all-time greats along with former Wildcats like Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa. Instead, she declared her new status on Tuesday, and will make her pro debut today in the Wegmans LPGA.
You could say the same about Richard Lee, the 16-year-old from Chandler who recently played – and withdrew – from the U.S. Open at Oakmont. In his first tournament against the best players in the world, Lee skied to 20-over par through 29 holes before a wrist injury led to a WD. Alas, little Richard turned pro on Monday, and makes his play-for-pay debut next month at the Canadian Open. From there, he’ll play Russian Roulette for the next two years via Monday qualifiers.
That’s no life. Lee would have been much better off had he followed in the footsteps of his friend, Philip Francis, who will attend UCLA this fall. Francis said he’s going to play golf for the Bruins for either two years or four years, like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson did for their schools, respectively.
It makes you want to scream: “Go back, Esther and Richard. It’s a trap!” But chances are the allure of making big money – Big Wiesy money – is too much for a mere teen-ager to overcome. Apparently the same could be said of their parents.
Choe and Lee certainly aren’t the only ones who have decided to fast-track their lives by skipping some formative years. For instance, I found it incredibly disappointing recently when 17-year-old Tony Finau of Salt Lake City gave up a golf scholarship to BYU in order to keep the money from the Ultimate Game in Las Vegas. In the end, Finau’s backers put up $50,000, and he failed to win the jackpot of $2 million, settling for $25,000 in winnings. That equates to about one-sixth of what Finau’s scholarship would have been worth had he gone to BYU.
It seems that the rush to get there faster than the last kid did never stops. Take 12-year-old Alexis Thompson of Coral Spring, Fla., whose parents allowed her to enter qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open. Guess what? Thompson will be playing in the national championship next week at Pine Needles Golf Resort in Southern Pines, N.C., where she’ll be the youngest competitor ever in a USGA event.
Thompson replaces Michelle Wie in the USGA record book. A couple of years ago, I would have thought that was a monumental achievement. These days, I’m not so sure.
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