Karrie Webb wins while Michelle Wie falters at the Evian Masters
The Evian Masters came to an exciting end, with Australian Karrie Webb holding off Michelle Wie and a charging Laura Davies for the victory to continue her impressive 2006 comeback …
Wie had a two-shot lead with seven holes to play, but played the final seven holes at even-par to finish in a tie for second place with Davies. Webb played the final seven holes at 3-under par to clinch the win …
Mi Hyun Kim finished in fourth place, followed by Lorena Ochoa. Defending champion Paula Creamer shot a 65 on the final day to move into the Top-10 …
| « Pavin wins U.S. Bank Championship, the Jack Nicklaus Heart & Stroke Challenge | Webb outpaces Wie in Evian Masters, Caddyshack reunion for charity, human skull found at country club » |
82 comments
funny how for anybody else a T2 would be considered a fantatstic finish, but for Michelle it's another failed attempt.
*****
The fault, dear Maui, is not in Michelle's stars, but in her handlers and sycophants.
-George
Wie had a two-shot lead with seven holes to play
*****
Ouch!
Let's see if the Wie Warriors accept skeptical suggestions that Michelle "choked away the lead" like they accused Natalie of doing only two weeks ago.
-George
for a player who is supposed dominate women's golf, she has produced. MW had a good tournament. She didn't win. That's OK. Putting 4 rounds of golf together is not easy for anyone. MW is one of the top women golfers right now. No disputing that. However, she was up by 2 with 7 holes to play and let it slip away. Hopefully, once she turns 17 she will petition the LPGA to let her become a member and she can enter more events... She should win atleast once, maybe more, during her first year as an active member on the tour (LPGA).
http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/sp/100505michellewie/im:/060729/photos_ts_afp/a973cf3ab786319f24f997f2a618c3b1;_ylt=AkcLDKJKagSnATBfwKxLxDSMKsMA;_ylu=X3oDMTA5bGcyMWMzBHNlYwNzc25hdg--
http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/sp/100505michellewie/im:/060729/ids_photos_sp/r1550290532.jpg;_ylt=Avxn3puGhACySzKHB724444FO7gF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5bGcyMWMzBHNlYwNzc25hdg--
If Bubbles had taken a more typical path to falling stardom -- keeping her head down, being humble and letting her golf do the talking, letting the press sing her praises in the usual fashion without throwing fuel on the fire -- she now would be hailed by all as a prodigious talent, destined to become the dominant force on the LPGA a few years hence. Because, after all, that would have been the story: "Long-hitting Hawaiian Girl Has Bright Future on LPGA." No hyperbole, no inflated expectations, no dog and pony show, no talk of breaking down sex barriers.
But that wasn't enough for the Bubbles clan. Bubbles made it known that the LPGA was small potatoes in her mind and that her immense talents would not be wasted through devotion to such a second rate tour. No, she was going to play the Masters, she was going to contend with the big boys. Why, she even made a cocky statement prior to a Nationwide Tour event about how she was going to "beat them."
When she embarked upon this course, Wie-zeals, the die was cast. The media found something they love: someone they could paint as a feminist crusader. The dogs of the media had been loosed and, with the Bubbles clan complicit start to finish, expectations were ratcheted up to the heavens.
Thus, you fawning acolytes, nothing short of continual victory on the LPGA will pass muster. The women's tour is merely supposed to be the small pond she wades in to prepare to swim in the PGA sea and harpoon those big fish, as she slaps around the Sorenstams, Webbs and Creamers of the world, winning most LPGA events by a comfortable margin.
This, Wiemen, is the dynamic you and the deified one whose altar you worship at have created. Second place at the Evian Masters? Please, in the Book of Bubbles, that's close to abject failure.
How well put.... Nice work.
The kid can play, but she, her family and Nike have brought on all of this...
Kind of reminds me of Tiger when he first came out. Pops had to get paid to keep his mouth shut. Pops rubbed people wrong at first.
Tiger has overcome, the majority of people like Tiger now. Time will tell if a similar Wieism takes place...
uh, let's see, I believe 3, right? So, if my old math is correct, Mi Hyun Kim came in 4th? But, hey, who's quibbling over numbers.
3 or 4, 4 or 3, don't matter - your point was not you faltering in some stupid blog, but MW "faltering"....
I don't think there is conspiracy from Wie folks. Who in the world could predict this sort of public facination with her? Michelled merely claimed what she believed in her heart, at age 13, not knowing how hard it would be to perform at the level top male players perform. Annika didn't realize it until she tried in her 30s. No matter how you look at Michelle's demeanor, she is not a cocky teenager, unless you automatically think she is because of the money she makes. She has never said anything similar to what Creamer, Morgan, and Licicome have said about her. Just imagine how these girls would have acted if they had her results and the attention that she received. Michelle IS a remarkable person by any standard. I will always support Michelle whether she wins or loses because I like her as a very decent human being who shows courage under the kind of pressure that not many adults could function with sanity. As a matter of fact, I feel strongly about supporting her more now than, say when she wins It's the moment when an individual triumphs against all odds, that's most amazing to watch. It's easy to worship a hero who has already made it. I prefer to lend my support for the making of one.
BE CONSISTENTLY SECOND BEST !!!
The advertising people in Oregon must be soiling themselves.
We had Lee Majors at $6 M. They never put a dollar amount on the
Bionic Woman. Now we have the $10 M phenom (AKA The Bionic Mouth).
She is , without a doubt, an incredibly talented golfer and will eventually win.
However, she, her father, her managers and the Wie Warriors have all
legitimized the unfairly high standard to which she is being judged.
She is only, you know, still 16.
Dot: Talk about "faltering" - let's see -- Karrie Webb won - uh, that's 1; MW came in TIED for 2nd, uh, that's 2; 1 plus 2 equals,
uh, let's see, I believe 3, right? So, if my old math is correct, Mi Hyun Kim came in 4th? But, hey, who's quibbling over numbers.
3 or 4, 4 or 3, don't matter - your point was not you faltering in some stupid blog, but MW "faltering"....
I believe Dot said Michelle faltered because she had a 2-stroke lead with 7 to play.
-George
Of course, that's what she said - wie leading then karrie charging - no problem with my english
(other than not using caps) - my point, which has gone by the way since she (Dot) was able to
correct her falter, was she she (Dot), who is a PROFESSIONAL, by the way, indicated in her first
attempt that Mi Hyun Kim came in third, that's 3rd, uh, 3..soo, the point being that if you're going
to throw pebbles at people (even if they are Professional) perhaps you should check to make
sure your own window is open....
toto
WOW! I just read your post on Wolfrum’s blog. I am truly impressed. Tell me it ain’t so, joe – er, George. Tell me this was
another George – surely, not you.
Pit yorkies? Nourish .. [for} a few nanoseconds on Michelle’s whatever.
Wow. Did we all of a sudden move to Iran? Fans are disallowed?
I find it sad, George, if you were never a fan of anyone.
Man, I am a BIG fan of the Jayhawks (Rock, chalk…), football and basketball.
I am a BIG fan of the Chiefs..
I am a BIG Yankee-hater..(how dare they take away Brett’s homer, i.e. pine-tar)
I am a fan of MW, Paula Creamer, & Morgan.
I am a fan of ALL achievers, young or old.
What, I’m not a fan of is negative folks who keep saying it can’t be done .. for whatever reason.
So, George, I would, sincerely say to you: Be a fan (Even if it’s the Damn Yankees!)
You might like it!
toto
This time she was already in the room and Karrie kicked the door down and stepped right through her.
C'mon, Wie had two par-5s in the last seven holes, where she clearly has a huge advantage. They were in the same group.
This SHOULD have been her time. Karrie clearly knows how to finish. And Wie hasn't learned. According to accounts, Wie was spraying her drives around during the last seven holes, not following Tiger's path of irons off the tee. That kept her scrambling for pars (which she apparently did beautifully) while Karrie was making birdies. Had Wie taken the prudent route of hitting fairways and greens (a la Tiger) and not copied Phil Mickelson, she could've put enough pressure on Karrie to win.
She SHOULD learn from this.
Karrie made birdie on 12, 14 and 17.
That's why she won, and deservedly so.
Why try to point blame in other directions?
By your instults directed at Michelle Wie, you are demeaning Karrie's performance.
You are suggesting that Karrie only won because Wie played the last 7 in even par.
Perhaps, you would be better served, recognising Karrie's achievement instead of trying to put down others.
Karrie played like a champion, and that is why she was the winner.
But it seems to me that this was a tournament Karrie Woods won, rather than a tournament Michelle Wie lost.
Did Michelle falter down the stretch in her last 7 holes after her birdie and Karrie's bogey put Wie up by 2?
On the last 7 holes Michelle Wie shot even par, which is exactly what she did on each of the first 3 days.
Karrie was 3 under for those holes after being even the first day, and two over each of the next two days.
Karrie Webb is a great player, but has she really earned the title Karrie Woods.
Is she that good?
Congratulations young lady, you played very well indeed this week. Next week Michelle drop your two iron in the bag and have fun.
I agree with you guys both. I would hardly call a 4-under 68 and playing par the last 7 holes "faltering." And like Jim, I'd see it more as Karrie Webb winning than Michelle AND Laura Davies AND the REST of the field losing. Give credit to where it is due. And as big of a Michelle Wie fan as I am, simply put, Karrie just played better this week than the rest of the field. Because she played better she earned the win. It's a 72-hole tournament, not a "7-holes down the stretch" kind of thing. Conclusion? Karrie won because she played better this week, not because anyone "faltered." Period. Still, I thought Michelle played well, and overall she is playing really well this year. I think of all the tournaments she has been in, Karrie Webb is the only person to have better record against. So these two and plenty others are playing really well. I don't get this whole negativity against anyone.
Heh heh heh heh!
I will be the forst to say, Karrie Webb is a great player and closer. She's back! I was one who thought she gave Annika a free ride by not showing up the last two years. By the way, where did the number 1 player finish at?
After a 2 shot swing in Wie's favor on 11, there was a 4 shot swing the other way in the next 6 holes.
This swing involved one bogey by Wie and 3 birdies by Webb.
Wie had been +2, E, +1 on those 6 holes for the first 3 days averaging +1--exactly what she shot the last day.
Webb had been +2, +3, +3 on those holes for the first 3 days.
Her -3 the final day was 5 and 2/3 shots better than what she had been averaging for those holes.
If Karrie Webb had simply matched her best performance(+2) in the tournament over those 6 holes,
Karrie would have been the one to lose ground to Wie over those holes--and she would have needed an ace
on the par 5 18th to get into a playoff with Wie and Davies.
Wow! The only thing I could think of when I read your post about Wie's boastful statements: I hope you're not a parent!! If your young or teenage son/daughter dares to dream and shares with you a wish to be governor, senator, president, CEO, MD, do you tell them to wake up and stop dreaming??? This young lady should be commended for not being afraid to follow her dream. Success and failure go hand and hand; if you're afraid to fail, you'll likely never succeed because you'll be afraid to try.
why he continuously writes about MW and then complains about her getting so much attention, is beyond me.
maybe its like the kid in school who keeps harassing a certain girl because he actually really likes her.
aw, judge smells. i would say you are probably secretly in love with Michelle, except that you are probably gay like your friend alex.
If Bubbles feels any undue pressure, it is of her own design. You buys yo' ticket and you takes yo' chances.
But, don't worry, if Bubbles fades into oblivion, there will be some other media creation onto which to glom.
know a single Wie supporter who views her string of top five finishes as anything but
an astounding success. The Wie-Bashers are the only group who would presume that anything less
than a first place finish is somehow a "failure". From whence do the Wie-bashers pull out this
absurd standard - from what dark place?
Bashers - help us understand. Point us to any sixteen year-old professional golfer in the history
of the game who has surpassed her monumental record.Can't do it? Can't even come close? Of course not.
Wie's successes ARE the new historic standard.
If the Bashers held themselves (in their own chosen fields) to the laughable standards they presume to
apply to Wie, then the Bashers would all have to hang themselves post-haste. Now I'm NOT proposing
that the Bashers hang themselves... it's fun to think about - but I'm not exactly proposing it.
This is the most useless blog on the site. Headlines without analysis. A monkey could do better.
*********************
I have to agree, but when there is no one who posts an intelligent article about Wie, then this is where people vent their thoughts. The blogs have a life of its own. Once people start posting comments, it tends to keep growing and the original article becomes irrelevant. At least the headline has a loaded sentence 'Wie falters' and Wie fans/Wie bashers gather like vultures.
You make two good points... +3 on par 3's, and communication
between Michelle and caddie Greg Johnston - I'll add my two cents.
Greg is a first-rate caddie, but may not be the best match for Wie. Wie was 30 yards
over-clubbed twice on the par 3 17th. Without laying blame, the communication between
this caddie and this player leaves something to be desired. I recall one instance in the recent
Women's Open... Wie was half-way through her pre-shot routine when Johnston boomed, "DO
YOU HAVE YOUR TARGET PICKED OUT?". Wie was startled, stopped her routine, and shot him
a very dirty look (like the one Tiger gives errant photographers). Wie sprayed the shot and bogeyed
the whole.
Johnston has a strong-willed style which works with some golfers, and doesn't work
with others. Inkster pretty much relegated him to yardages only. I'd be a little surprised
if Johnston is on the bag for Wie in '07.
She played four wedges at Evian - PW GW SW and LW. She twice hit the ball
30 yards long on the 110 17th. That is the wrong wedge, not the wrong feel.
Sure, it is the player's club choice ultimately, but a pro caddie shares some responsibility.
Booger, you must be a true hack if you can't see scores of wins in Wie's swing.
4 years from now, when MW is 20, people will still know her name, and
her game -
no one, 4 years from now will remember who are --
to be able to say, uh, "..unable to break 75..?"
There is a problem with the Laura Baugh comparison.
There may be a similaroty with Wie--but there seems to be a greater similarity with Morgan Pressel.
Like Morgan Pressel, Laura Baugh learned to win as an amateur--winning the US Women's Amateur,
althugh she did it at 16 compared to 17 for Pressel.
Both turned pro at 17, although Baugh actually did have to wait until her May 31 birthday to join the LPGA.
Learning to win as an amateur led Baugh to a career with 10 LPGA seconds and zero wins.
Could it be that this is the proof that learning to win as an amateur is over rated.
I wonder if the lack of communication between Michelle and her caddy wasn't setup in the Wie Camp ground rules before Johnston came on the scene. I checked out the Royal Lytham layout for the ladies British Open and discovered there are approximately 200 bunkers on the course. You know...the kind that you could loose your pickup truck in. It should be very interesting to see how the ladies handle the course. Michelle, you better be practising with your 2 iron and get in the mindset of the TIGER!!
not their masters.
five iron + on 110 yard par 3's (have you never played Pebble?). The bottom
line is that communication between Wie and Johnston leaves something to be
desired. Who's fault? Who cares.
Is this "hack central"? We are not talking about feel. We're talking about picking the
right club for distance and wind conditions (club selection) - not judging and finessing the distance of a
single club (feel). Again - bottom line - trust and communication between Wie and Johnston
leaves much room for improvement.
By the way, I also read the Evian interview with Wie. You have an
active imagination.
6 million Jewish civilians systematically exterminated--more than half of them womean and children.
At one time they used to teach about this in the schools.
If they are now teaching the opposite, that it never happened--they are wrong.
A terrorist went up to a baby carriage and shot a Jewish baby to death in one of the Wesy Bank settlements.
Adolph Hitler would be proud. This type of thing only happens to Jewish babies.
Rd1..Hole 17, 114-yard par 3: bogey – 52-degree wedge 40 yards over the green, lob wedge missed green, lob wedge to eight feet
Rd2..Q: You seem to enjoy it when you are in trouble, like you like hitting out of the bunker or out of weird places.
MICHELLE WIE: Well, it was laughable, especially on the 17 th hole. Today I was 20 yards shot and yesterday I was 40 yards long, so you have to have a laugh after that. It makes the game a little more interesting. Obviously I would love to be in the fairway and love to play a boring game, but that is the way it is and you have to accept it.
Q: What club did you hit on 17 today?
MICHELLE WIE: Oh, I hit the same club. (laughter)
Q: You hit the 52?
MICHELLE WIE: Yesterday the reason it went that far is because I hit it just over the green, but it caught that hill and rocketed out of there, but I am going to get it down. I hit one long and one short, so tomorrow is going to be good.
Rd3..Q: Shall we talk about 17?
MICHELLE WIE: I think I become like the Hulk or something on that hole because you know how I always hit a 52, I hit a 56 today and you know I mean it was, there was no reason why it should have gone that far but I know what I would have hit if I went to the teebox, but you know I just got a bad lie for my second shot. It was just you know I felt I played it good when I hit it I felt it was going to be good, but it just kept on going. It was just a weird roll but I am not going to leave this tournament without birdying it.
Rd4..Q: What did you hit on 17?
MICHELLE WIE: 56. Told you I would be on the green. (laughter)
Now.... remember the hole is a DOWNHILL short par 3.... you can hit a full wedge, 3/4 wedge...etc... ie FEEL.
Apparently, it is possible that you possess the characteristics of a of person who likes to make stuff up and when confronted with the facts, dismisses them with an insult.... are you part of the liberal left???
And... since you did not hear the conversation between MW and her caddie, how can you comment on it.... I think your crystal ball needs some realignment...
Hey Jim C, if you really think 6,000,000 jews died in WW2 I have a bridge I'd like to sell you.
07/31/06 @ 07:37
Booger, are you sure you're name isn't Ernst Zundel?? Oh, wait, he's in jail in Germany for spreading the kinds of hate statement like you just made.
Selling that kind of bridge might get you some jail time so carry on.
Thanks for proving my points.
Point one: She played TWO different wedges on that hole. Not a SW only that she tweeked for feel.
(If you cursor up, you'll see that I said she played four wedges at "Evian", not four wedges at 17.)
Point two: Johnston is an experienced professional caddie, Michelle is sixteen. Johnston should
have found a way to communicate the club and shot-shape needed to hit a 110 yd green. If she had parred
that hole in rounds one and three (instead of bogeying), she would have picked up two strokes - the winning
margin was one stroke.
Any way you look at it, there was a costly failure to effectively communicate between a pro caddie
and a pro golfer.*
*Crystal ball not required
If I said that 2+2=5, would I be accused of being a "racist" because most people, especially minorities, consider 2+2 to equal 4? There is no way that 6,000,000 jews died in WW2. Some most certainly did die, maybe as many as a million, and to state otherwise would be ridiculous. However, how is disputing bad accounting "hate"? The very fact that to dispute the holy number 6,000,000 gets you branded as a criminal deserving of imprisonment certainly makes this Booger believe that the truth is on his side.
Here - I've cut and pasted the two comments in question (copied verbatim from the
comment boxes above)
Here's yours:
"It's a feel shot for these folks that can blast SW that distance."
It led me to believe that you thought that it was a Sand Wedge only - not a club choice
of Sand or Gap.
Here's mine:
"She played four wedges at Evian - PW GW SW and LW."
I said she had four wedges in the bag - not that she used four wedges on 17.
My point was, and still is, that Johnston and Wie are not in sync. Listen to
Woods and Williams confer on shots. They're in sync. Could Johnston have helped Wie
on 17 if they were in sync? I believe so.
However, I really don't think it matters whose fault it is. Either they're in sync, or they're not.
Finding the right caddie for any player takes time - years sometimes.
"Some most certainly did die, maybe as many as a million." Wonderful what you americans learn in your schools. Creative history 101 ?
Ok, Mr. Ernst Zundel. Or is your name Jim Keegstra? Wonder who they are? Google your hate mongerer friends, Booger.I can tell you have views along the line of your buddy, Mel Gibson.
>>Comment from: IB [Visitor]
>>This is the most useless blog on the site. Headlines without analysis. A monkey could do better.
>*********************
>I have to agree, but when there is no one who posts an intelligent article about Wie, then this is where people vent their thoughts. The blogs have a life of its own. Once people start posting >comments, it tends to keep growing and the original article becomes irrelevant. At least the headline has a loaded sentence 'Wie falters' and Wie fans/Wie bashers gather like vultures.
Jay and IB, I also agree.
But this blog isn't the only one guilty of headlines without analysis. Of course, luckily for Travel Golf, the quality of their bloggers doesn't seem to matter. Basically they could say anything with Wie in the title and we'd still all start posting comments eventually making the original Blog post irrelevant. When you ask the bloggers for any legitimate analysis, they can't give you any.
Where is your proof for these assumptions? The fact that 6, 000, 000 names aren't on a wall?
How hurtful Jenney. Personally I find that Wolfrum fellow to border on blogging genius. But that's just me.
--DNWKW
But I do not agree with making it a crime to say the Holocaust did not happen.
I believe in free speech even if I do not agree with what is said.
;)
--SUNCAIWKW
BTW, jumping the couch as defined by the Urban Dictionary:
The defining moment when you know someone has gone off the deep end. Inspired by Tom Cruise's behaviour on Oprah.
I would submit that Booger "jumped the couch", and then some. "Jim C" et al, answered him
with restraint and far more kindness than he deserved. Sometimes you have to
"stand on the couch" to get through to a bouncin' moron like Booger.
I'm rather confused. How much would you bet that Wie will never win anything? Even some small event when she's 33? I suppose you'd get good odds…
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