Should Michelle Wie stick to the LPGA?
Sometimes friendly banter among Evening Sun reporters lends itself to a discussion we call “Point/Counterpoint.” In this forum, staff members battle wits and ideas on a variety of subjects, and today, Evening Sun Staff Writer, Michael McGuire, and Evening Sun Sports Editor, Patrick Newell, discuss Michelle Wie’s long-range ambitions. Wie’s grand design is to transcend golf’s long-standing traditions and play on the PGA Tour. Is this in the best interests of golf and more succinctly, women’s golf?
PN: Michelle Wie is probably the best thing that has happened to women’s golf – and maybe the entire sport – since Tiger Woods turned pro in 1996. Still, she hasn’t proven a thing yet – outside of the fact she can place in the top three of big women’s tournaments. PGA Tour events, those ones that probably need an attendance boost, have granted her special exemptions to their events. She has missed the cut every time. This is not a chauvinistic assessment, but she simply cannot compete on a four-round basis with the men. How about her cashing a few winners’ checks on the LPGA first?
MM: I’m not sure if Michelle Wie is the best thing to happen to golf since Tiger – but I am a chauvinist – and I say let her play. She hasn’t made a PGA cut in a number of sponsor-exempted invites, but she consistently finishes higher than a good number of card- holding professional males. She doesn’t have the LPGA track record of Annika Sorenstam, Kari Webb or Se Ri Pak, but her talent at her age has given Michelle a cash advance on a number of paydays most golf minds are sure she’ll earn in the near future.
PN: It was cute when Michelle was a “wee” 14-year-old playing in her home state-hosted Sony Open in Hawaii against the men. People marveled at a 68 she shot in one tournament round to “almost” make the cut line. But c’mon, the novelty has worn off. She has regressed instead of progressed. And as recently as the women’s British Open, she didn’t even place among the top-25. Sorenstam is far and away the best women’s golfer in the world on a year-to-year consistent basis, and she, herself, would admit she cannot compete on the PGA Tour with any degree of success.
MM: I am a strong proponent of letting people dig their own graves, and I am a firm believer in destiny. If she is meant to fail holding the shovel, then so be it. If god for bid she is meant to succeed, and suddenly women miraculously start to overrun the men’s tour – like thousands of undead zombie hands jutting out of the hallowed earth – then so be it. We should let her prove her own worthy or unworthiness rather than viewing her decisions as carrying apocalyptic weight in the world of golf. If Wie’s PGA tour monkey business begins to tamper with the overall status of men’s golf (other than wounding a few egos), then pull the plug. If it tampers with women’s golf (other than wounding a few egos), pull the plug. But if Michelle’s desired, and demanded, dabbling into the PGA tour tampers with nobody but Michelle, we cannot intercede or deny whatever the inevitable may be; no matter what we want it to be.
PN: I doubt we’ll see that cataclysmic day when zombie women overrun the PGA Tour. Actually, I doubt we’ll ever see a woman compete with men on an even scale on the PGA Tour. That’s just a stone-cold, objective analysis. Look at this weekend’s PGA major in Illinois. The course is nearly 7,600 yards, or at least a 1,000 yards longer than any course the women must play. Michelle Wie hits the snot out of the ball, no argument there, but her distance comparatively with professional men, is average to below average. Michelle Wie was a prodigy who garnered some deserved attention as an amateur competing with adults. Now she is a professional attempting to make a living. When she takes a spot at a PGA Tour event, she is bumping a man who is also attempting to make a living in his sport. If she really wants to play men’s golf, let her work her way to the top like every other professional on the mini-tours and qualifying school. If she is successful paying her dues like everyone else, I’d welcome her with open arms. ...Oh, and thank you Mike for contributing to our sports section the past few weeks. Good luck in your future endeavors.
MM: Thank you Pat for letting me live in your sports world for a while, point/counterpoint has been a lot of fun and honestly one of the better experiences I’ve had working here at The Evening Sun. Chances are, if Wie’s bumping out the bottom guy on the money list, she’s probably doing him a favor – struggling every year to pass tour qualifying school is no way to go through life. The low-guy should give up the dream, become a travel agent, and be content with recommending good golf packages in Myrtle Beach and being the best player at his local course. From an outsiders point of view, I think golf is doing itself a favor by opening up a little bit, starting with Michelle Wie. She may never win against men, she may never win at all. But since she has proven to be a phenomenal talent (although not at the playing level with seasoned pros over the age of 16), and the powers that be give her the chance to compete against the best, then good for PGA golf and its sponsors, who can never say they held her out, whether she fails or succeeds.
PN: Michelle Wie is probably the best thing that has happened to women’s golf – and maybe the entire sport – since Tiger Woods turned pro in 1996. Still, she hasn’t proven a thing yet – outside of the fact she can place in the top three of big women’s tournaments. PGA Tour events, those ones that probably need an attendance boost, have granted her special exemptions to their events. She has missed the cut every time. This is not a chauvinistic assessment, but she simply cannot compete on a four-round basis with the men. How about her cashing a few winners’ checks on the LPGA first?
MM: I’m not sure if Michelle Wie is the best thing to happen to golf since Tiger – but I am a chauvinist – and I say let her play. She hasn’t made a PGA cut in a number of sponsor-exempted invites, but she consistently finishes higher than a good number of card- holding professional males. She doesn’t have the LPGA track record of Annika Sorenstam, Kari Webb or Se Ri Pak, but her talent at her age has given Michelle a cash advance on a number of paydays most golf minds are sure she’ll earn in the near future.
PN: It was cute when Michelle was a “wee” 14-year-old playing in her home state-hosted Sony Open in Hawaii against the men. People marveled at a 68 she shot in one tournament round to “almost” make the cut line. But c’mon, the novelty has worn off. She has regressed instead of progressed. And as recently as the women’s British Open, she didn’t even place among the top-25. Sorenstam is far and away the best women’s golfer in the world on a year-to-year consistent basis, and she, herself, would admit she cannot compete on the PGA Tour with any degree of success.
MM: I am a strong proponent of letting people dig their own graves, and I am a firm believer in destiny. If she is meant to fail holding the shovel, then so be it. If god for bid she is meant to succeed, and suddenly women miraculously start to overrun the men’s tour – like thousands of undead zombie hands jutting out of the hallowed earth – then so be it. We should let her prove her own worthy or unworthiness rather than viewing her decisions as carrying apocalyptic weight in the world of golf. If Wie’s PGA tour monkey business begins to tamper with the overall status of men’s golf (other than wounding a few egos), then pull the plug. If it tampers with women’s golf (other than wounding a few egos), pull the plug. But if Michelle’s desired, and demanded, dabbling into the PGA tour tampers with nobody but Michelle, we cannot intercede or deny whatever the inevitable may be; no matter what we want it to be.
PN: I doubt we’ll see that cataclysmic day when zombie women overrun the PGA Tour. Actually, I doubt we’ll ever see a woman compete with men on an even scale on the PGA Tour. That’s just a stone-cold, objective analysis. Look at this weekend’s PGA major in Illinois. The course is nearly 7,600 yards, or at least a 1,000 yards longer than any course the women must play. Michelle Wie hits the snot out of the ball, no argument there, but her distance comparatively with professional men, is average to below average. Michelle Wie was a prodigy who garnered some deserved attention as an amateur competing with adults. Now she is a professional attempting to make a living. When she takes a spot at a PGA Tour event, she is bumping a man who is also attempting to make a living in his sport. If she really wants to play men’s golf, let her work her way to the top like every other professional on the mini-tours and qualifying school. If she is successful paying her dues like everyone else, I’d welcome her with open arms. ...Oh, and thank you Mike for contributing to our sports section the past few weeks. Good luck in your future endeavors.
MM: Thank you Pat for letting me live in your sports world for a while, point/counterpoint has been a lot of fun and honestly one of the better experiences I’ve had working here at The Evening Sun. Chances are, if Wie’s bumping out the bottom guy on the money list, she’s probably doing him a favor – struggling every year to pass tour qualifying school is no way to go through life. The low-guy should give up the dream, become a travel agent, and be content with recommending good golf packages in Myrtle Beach and being the best player at his local course. From an outsiders point of view, I think golf is doing itself a favor by opening up a little bit, starting with Michelle Wie. She may never win against men, she may never win at all. But since she has proven to be a phenomenal talent (although not at the playing level with seasoned pros over the age of 16), and the powers that be give her the chance to compete against the best, then good for PGA golf and its sponsors, who can never say they held her out, whether she fails or succeeds.
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