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Wie Don't Get It
Shark.com Staff
November 27, 2006
Enough of trying to prove you can play with men. Enough of taking six-figure appearance fees to fly around the world and playing on any professional tour that will pay quite well for your talent and your good looks.
It was interesting for a while, but the novelty has worn off. Try to prove you can win against the best women players in the world instead of simply trying to make a cut against the top men.
The world's top woman player, Annika Sorenstam, learned that lesson quickly. She took her shot against the men at Colonial, came close and then turned her attention back to dominating her arena. Wie should follow suit -- quickly.
Wie's latest meltdown came in last week's Casio World Open in Japan, where she floundered through rounds of 80 and 81 and beat only one player in the field -- an amateur named Tomomichi Oto, who's a local college student.
 | | Wie has now played in 12 tournaments against men and has only made one cut. |
Wie didn't make a single birdie in the tournament, nor is she making much of a statement about the unusual career path she has taken the last few years. She should have listened a few years ago when Tiger Woods -- who knows a thing or two about being a child prodigy -- advised her to play against women and the top juniors so she can earn the art of winning.
But Wie ignored Tiger's suggestion, and it's now been more than three years since she won her only tournament of significance, the 2003 U.S. Women's Public Links Championship.
She has gone from a cute little story to almost a sideshow -- come out and watch an attractive 17-year-old girl play against men. When she took a sponsor's exemption into the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic in July, several veteran pros insisted they didn't even realize she was in the field. Her act has gotten that old.
At the Deere, she opened with a 77 and then was forced to quit after nine holes in the second round when she had to be taken to a local hospital with heat exhaustion. It had become clear other pros were tired of answering questions about Wie. Veteran pro Scott Verplank advised her to "come back when she's 20 or 21 and grown up.".
Wie refuses to admit she's making a mistake, even when she clearly looked out of her league in Japan.
"I know in the last two tournaments I did not play well at all," said Wie, who is averaging 78.5 strokes in her last eight rounds against the men. "My game was pretty tragic, that's how I'd describe it."
Wie has now played in 12 tournaments against men on six tours: PGA, European, Japanese, Asian, Canadian and Nationwide. She has made one cut, earlier this year in Korea on the Asian Tour.
What makes Woods' suggestion so obvious is Wie has improved her performance against the women. In her first six LPGA events this year, which included three major championships, Wie never finished worse than fifth place, including a tie for second at the Evian Masters on July 29.
The LPGA Tour is clearly where Wie should be playing all of her golf, but she won't even
consider asking for an exemption to the tour's bylaws that state someone must be 18 to become a member (as Morgan Pressel did last year). Wie doesn't want to become a member of the LPGA Tour because that would take away her free agent-type freedom to pick and choose where she wants to play.
Wie reportedly received more than $1 million in appearance fees for playing in foreign men's events this year -- and only 10 players earned at least $1 million on the LPGA Tour. Plus, with multi-million-dollar endorsement deals with Nike and Samsung, she can afford to play by her own set of rules.
The LPGA Tour clearly needs Wie more than she needs it, especially when she discusses her long-term goal: "To play on the men's tour is what I want to do," she said. That's why playing in men's events "doesn't really put that much pressure on me because I know what I'm doing."
Her supporters will point out that Wie is just 17 and hasn't even been a professional for a full season. But the critics will point to her ever-rising scores of late and wonder if she really understands the big picture of her career.
"What won't kill you makes you better," Wie says. "I've definitely learned a lot from playing with the guys."
| The Par Report is posted every Monday on Shark.com. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Greg Norman. |
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