Stanford schools Michelle Wie on the mental game. Tiger Woods returns and is your short game scaring you?
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Michelle Wie’s high hopes were dashed once again as she struggled against the wake of the tide which Angela Stanford created as she plowed through on the back nine at the SBS Open. Expectations, as we have seen time-and-time-again, have a way of throwing this game of golf into turmoil instead of doing what Stanford did by “just having so much fun.” Michelle Wie version 2.0 is still very much a work in progress.
The battle between the two was exciting and proved that, although Wie has much work to do on her mental game in order to shift focus from competing to winning, her optimism and greatly improved swing will serve her, and the LPGA Tour, well this year. Any threat so far to Lorena Ochoa? Not likely.
Carolyn Bivens, who in 2006 mentioned her “master plan to expose the personalities of our stars to the general media", will now get the opportunity to turn her dreams for the LPGA into reality, thanks to the addition of Michelle Wie.
Several interesting deals to counteract the downward decline of the LPGA include a ten-year exclusive agreement with the Golf Channel beginning in 2010 and a sponsorship deal with Korea media bigwig JoongAng Ilbo. The Sports Business Journal asserts that Wie will not be promoted any differently than any of the other nineteen LPGA rookies but the Golf Channel made no such promise, instead deciding to use Wie’s image to boost ratings. Can you blame them?
For now, it is clear to see who is the belle of the ball, the star of the show regardless of performance. Hopefully Michelle Wie will not disappoint but that doesn’t matter much either as viewers have a weird fascination watching the rise and fall of celebrities. Either way, MW’s entrance into the LPGA is a winning situation for all involved.
This popular tune sung by Frank Sinatra says it all…
Cause she’s got, high hopes, she’s got high hopes, she’s got, high apple-pie in the sky hopes….
So any time your gettin low
stead of lettin go
Just remember that ant
Oops there goes another rubber tree plant…
Golf for Beginners also offers news of Tiger Woods’ return to the PGA Tour from friend Mark O’Meara.
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The tournament in which she faltered ended Saturday. Yet, to my mild surprise, none of the bloggers here issued anything about it till today - almost two days later. Normally, they be jumping on a story like this right away.
Is it that it was Presidents' Day weekend? I'm inclined to believe there's a bit more to it. I think Bubbles' act is wearing a little thin, that she really has lost a lot of her cachet. Now, when she chokes away a tournament, it just isn't news anymore. That's just what Bubbles does.
I am at work today in spite of the fact that it is Presidents' Day.
In regards to Bubbles' choking on Saturday, I believe that she will, one day, no longer do so. Will she eventually win an event? I'm sure the LPGA is crossing their collective fingers!
But of course her name wasn't Wie so it was not fodder for the raging spleen ventors.
Needless to say, those things can go either way on any given tournament.
Given Vicky Hursts list of accomplishments, it is hard to believe that she is placed so low.(239 I think)
She has a longer list of tournaments play and "won"(something Wie hasn't done) that Michelle.
I would have thought she'd be closer to where Stacy Lewis ranks.
And we all know that without Petterson choking badly that day, Pressel was no closer to a win that Michelle was.
So, other than wanting to belabor your view that MW was overhyped which wasn't in dispute, and wanting to pick a fight in the same way that your friend Alex does, what was your point?
Bubbles is reaping what she and her family have sown. If she had comported herself in a more dignified, humble manner, she wouldn't have been hyped unrealistically and wouldn't today be facing this criticism. But then she also wouldn't have gotten those plum contracts, would she? Listen, she received millions she didn't deserve by flapping her lips, so don't be surprised if she now has to take some lip.
One thing these Wiebots just can't get is that Bubbles simply is not as good a golfer as they would like her to be.
At the SBS, she was T1st in putting. In fact, she took nine fewer putts than Angela, and still came up three shots short.
She didn't have the guts to go for the green in two on the final hole. Or perhaps she didn't have the game for such a bold attempt.
In any event, she still wears the horsecollar, NO WINS, that is, and she is likely to wear it for the foreseeable future.
putt4par,
Who me? Pick a fight? Never!
Especially with a Canuck!
Where I come from, picking a fight with a Canadian is the same as picking a fight with an 85 year old Grandmother.
Alex USMC 1969-73
Yup, standard Alex approach to blogging.
If you haven't anything worthwhile to add to a blog, Alex, please refrain your usual repetitious rehtoric of insult,denegration,bashing and hate mongering.
You reflect very poorly on your fathers chosen country of refuge.
Oh and a quote from Grikdogs Blog for you Alex.
"The Wiesy haters are all clucking about how Michelle Wie choked at the SBS Open, Turtle Bay, Hawaii last week. Uhh... choked? She finished alone in second place at her inaugural opener as a fully-fledged, card-carrying member of the LPGA. She earned $108,332 bucks before taxes. Did your 19-year-old do that?"
Clucking? lol, describes Alex perfectly.
Bubbles choked, plain and simple.
No surprise there, she always chokes.
You Wie-wee's should be accustomed to her choking by now.
But I haven't given up hope for you jokers.
I firmly believe that guys like you will soon accept the fact that Bubbles is nothing more than a journeywoman golfer, and you will like that fact.
putt-putt,
What in hell has happened to your grammar, punctuation, and spelling?
Alex USMC 1969-73
Your rants are ancient, come up with something new for pete's sake.
Stop playing the English college professor! Who really cares if the grammar isn't perfect.
After three years, the Wie's critics are still whining about the endorsement money she received when she was 16. In football, basketball and baseball, there have been many players that have been paid millions of dollars per year on their "potential"...far more money that Michelle was paid. Obviously, Michelle has a mental problem under pressure. The time in Korea when she only had to go par, bogey to make the cut in a men's event and she went bogey, bogey to miss the cut by one stroke. Again, her putting on short putts cost her the win. The four footers have been her nemesis for many years. Hopefully, in Phoenix, she will be successful. What Michelle did on the last eight holes and what Ochoa would have done, is why Ochoa is number one in the world. Since Ochoa is planning to marry a multi-millionaire in December, I think her career will be coming to a close, sooner than later...baby, baby, baby.
The Player, the Scam artist or the Unniversity?
I have been reading this for the past three years!
Is there a string in Bubbles' back they pull when she needs to talk? These responses seem so canned - like deja vu all over again. Part of the problem with her is that she doesn't seem real. You're not relating to your fans when you give the same scripted response every time you're in a given situation.
Oh, there's also something Bubbles should know: playing "pretty solid" and having "one bad hole" is known otherwise as choking. That's what happens in such a situation. You're playing all right, but then you suffer a bit of a psychological collapse and falter noticeably.
Should make for a good match up next week with the Re-invigorated Tiger.
Wonder what pithy comments Williams will make about that!?!
From your earlier post, I dont know why Vicky Hurst ranking is so low on the Rolex Rankings (238). The same ranking system has Stacy Lewis at 69, and Bubbles at 87. But I did notice that Vicky had a "+55" from her previous ranking. I guess they are just starting her at the bottom and letting her work her way up. By the way, you remember the Rolex Rankings that came out? It had Sorrenstan at 1, Bubbles at 2, and Creamer at 3. They must have used a little different formula when they placed Bubbles at #2, in comparison to placing Vicky 238.
In my last post, I meant to ask "do you remember the first Rolex Rankings that came out?
Sorry for the solecism.
As for V. Hurst. She has great amateur and professional wins and stats. But I believe they only use the last two years. Not sure why she would be so low.
I realize she may not have the College stats that Stacy has but, she has professional stats that are better than Stacy. Not sure what weighting they use for proffesional vs amateur stats, or even if there are any differences. Sometimes it almost looks like they used a set of dice to make ranking decisions.
The womens rankings are baffling at times.
Since Phil and Tiger are in different brackets, the only way they will be matched up is if they both are in the final pair. That is highly unlikely, but still possible.
One British online betting site has Woods as -500 against his opponent in the first pairing. I can't imagine anyone but a Tiger groupie laying those odds on a golfer who hasn't played a competitive round in more than eight months.
Alex USMC 1969-73
events offer very few points. Wie's T 12 at last
year's Canadian was probably worth more than all VH's
wins put together. Lewis was T 3 in last year's open.
Well, I am going to have to eat crow with concern to Wunderkind Michelle Wie. At the Kraft Nabisco third round she is already 6 over par after 5 holes. Since there are light airs, she will not be able to blame the wind for her miserable performance. I doubt seriously if she will break 90. It looks like she is having a complete meltdown. Of course, she will say that she didn't think she played that poorly, just a couple of bad tee shots here and there. If she continues playing this poorly, she will have a tough time keeping her card. You can hit 10,000 balls on the practice range and have your friends ooh and awe, however, there is absolutely no mental stress when doing that. She could not putt when she was 13 and she can still not putt at 19. When she loses her endorsements next year, I think she will suddenly become a full time student at Stanford. What a waste. Like you have been saying from the beginning, Michelle is all "smoke and mirrors."
Michelle, who else but you can control if you win or not. your mommy and daddy?