Michelle Wie fails upward - accepts spot in PGA Tour's Reno-Tahoe Open

Are you really cute? Let's see the JPG/GIF. Seriously, aren't these exciting times for golf... Norman last week, Wie last week and now Wie next week. I'm as giddy about watching it all on TV and if she makes the cut as TC Michael Stearns seems to be.

I thought she came back too quickly from a serious injury. How does who you play against "ruin" your game?

She didn't qualify for the Evian Masters next week or the Women's British Open the week after, so, yeah, she's definitely not among the elite of the women's game these days--and not even among the top 10 teenagers in the women's golf world. But she was at -17 in 3 rounds at Panther Creek, the second time she's gone double digits under par (the other time was on the LET in Germany). It's not like she's been playing terrible lately.

Bottom line, she does have the game to play against men. (So do Lorena Ochoa, Suzann Pettersen, and Jee Young Lee.) Her scrambling and short game have gotten better while she was bunting it around the last year and a half. Lightning could strike and she could make the cut. And she could contend at the Canadian Open, her last chance to bypass Q-School, thanks to her brain fart at the State Farm Classic.

LPGA Q-School? hmmmm... wonder if she earns the requisite 80K+ at this PGA tournament and if that would tour qualify her for the LPGA. Somebody know the LPGA rules on this?

Complete joke. Over on Baldwin's blog he criticizes the LPGA for how it handled the DQ situation. Well full criticism should be given the PGA for allowing this sponsor's exemption foolery to carry on. On what planet is the 244th ranked women's player deserving of teeing it up on the PGA? Sure it's the tournament's sponsor's choice but the PGA should insert itself somehow to avoid this type of contineed embarassment and allowing an undeserving spoiled teen to be rewarded for her complete disregard of the rules of golf, again, imaturity, delusion, and complete lack of a game to support the ridiculous hype and millions she's received. This makes me so close to retiring as a golf fan. It is an absolute travesty.

Don't worry Soo - We probably won't have to worry about that. Hopefully all the B.S. will end on Friday - Thursday would be even better!

You people are delusional if you think the top women have the game to compete with the men. How did Sorenstam do in the Colonial? And, remember, she was the best female player who ever lived playing at the top of her game.

You people just don't know golf.

1) PGA Tour decision...stupid on her part.

2) LPGA DQ...
USGA Rule 33-7. Disqualification Penalty; Committee Discretion

A penalty of disqualification may in exceptional individual cases be waived, modified or imposed if the Committee considers such action warranted.

Any penalty less than disqualification must not be waived or modified.

If a Committee considers that a player is guilty of a serious breach of etiquette, it may impose a penalty of disqualification under this Rule.

> You people just don't know golf.

But all the comments about Wie playing with the men were negative. Or did I miss something?

Judge,

Annika only missed out on the cut by a couple shots and it was her first event. I'm convinced if she had played in a few mens events a year, in her prime, she would have made at least one cut, and perhaps a Top 40.

I don't know who to wag the finger at, Wie or the exploitive sponsors on this one. It makes me want to hurl though, that's for sure.

She will probably make this cut, but why would that be a big deal? Somebody ought to show her a picture of herself when She was wheeled out of that tournament where She suffered heat exaustion.

I was just starting to feel sorry for her and now this. Actually you can't blame her. The LPGA seems not to like her very much. Witters seem to get a kick out of making Bubbles Cry seem to

>>>"She will probably make this cut..."

Art, why on earth would you think that?

It's amazing to me that Michelle Wie has a few good scores in a row and decides she is ready to take on the PGA Tour once again! Of course, she didn't have to qualify.

BTW Wolfrum, are you handing out exemptions?

Wie, the only golfer in history who rarely has to earn her place on a tour, will never have to qualify as long as she keeps herself in the news...

Tsk, tsk about the Ricoh British Open. I'm going to watch it anyway.

Last week Michelle Wie was playing against a very week field of LPGA players when she may have mistakenly thought her father B.J. could sign her scorecard for her; after all he controls virtually every other movement she makes. Next week the farcical reality show that is Michelle Wie travels just south of Reno.

The high altitude course is 7,472 yards with the longest hole an impressive 636 yards. Wie (healed wrists and all) should be swinging from the heels to prove she can drive as far as the men. If history is any indicator, a far share of her drives will be bouncing off pine trees, rocks and perhaps a endangered specie like a bald eagle. All hell will break loose and in the end a red-eyed Wie will say this tournament was a "great learning experience."

I can't wait.

I assume you meant "very weak field," Tom, but
consider this:

1) This weak field broke the tournament record.
Twice. Three times if you count Shanshan Feng
equalling Christina Kim's 63 after Hee-Won Han's 61.

2) The winning score was the same as 2007's, which
featured a much stronger field playing Panther Creek
for the 1st time. Wie equalled the winning score in
3 rounds. Who knows what Tseng would have shot if she
had been in a showdown with Wie Sunday?

3) Wie is nowhere close to Sorenstam, but she has
a very different game. Annika turned herself into
a power player by LPGA standards, but Wie is part of
another generation whose games are better fitted to
compete on the PGA. I'd rather see Ochoa or Pettersen
trying this than Wie, but they have more sense. Wie
doesn't even have the golf experience of Jee Young
Lee, another player I think could compete with the
guys, but Lee is properly focused on developing her
game against her peers.

4) Where the male pros are so much better than the
women are in their recovery shots and 100 yards and
in games. Wie made enough strides in both areas the
past year that she has a ghost of a chance next week.
But a ghost is better than none.

Why not give it a shot when she has only 1 LPGA
event left this year? If she goes under par in 1 of
her rounds, expect to see more of this before 2008
is done. Of course the sensible thing for her to do
is play the last 6 Futures Tour events and try to
get into the LPGA by finishing in the top 5 of the
money list, but when has she done anything sensibly?

Brandon,

You may be convinced, but you're wrong. You're forgetting that Sorenstam cherry-picked the Colonial because it was played on a course on which her chances would be maximized. It is very short by PGA Tour standards and had a lot of doglegs, holes where the men had to lay up, which neutralized their length advantage to some degree. Moreover, Sorenstam missed the cut by FOUR shots, a sizable number at that level, finishing ahead of only 11 men who completed the event.

If she played on a regular PGA Tour layout, she would have virtually no chance of making the cut. And, if she had played the men's tour full-time, she would have done well to make one cut in a year's time. As for top 40, I want some of what you're smoking.

The problem here is that society has done a 180-degree about-face. People now greatly overestimate female athletes' abilities; the gap between the sexes in sports in huge, and it's even significant in golf. This isn't to say that a woman won't eventually make a cut on the PGA Tour. If you keep giving them chances, as they say, even a blind squirrel . . . . But it will be a fluke, and it's a long way from "competing" on the men's tour.

Constructivist,

A "ghost" of a chance to do what? Make the cut? There are thousands of non-PGA male players who have such a chance, but they don't belong on the real tour any more than this interloper.

Art,

Would you like to back up your prediction that she will probably make the cut with a little wager?

She sure is a work in progress!

You got to give it to Wie, not only has she made a complete fool of herself but also is doing the same for the LPGA & PGA.

You know in life a good laugh is not always easy to find.

I have to admit it will be entertaining to see what happens next, maybe we could create a new leaque called the CPGA, a Comedy leaque would place Wie in a leaque of her own for sure!

AFY!!

Having heard nothing from the Ladies' Golf Union about a wild card, Wie accepted an invitation to play instead in the Reno-Tahoe Open on the men's PGA Tour in Nevada.

On hearing the news, the LGU said they had been considering a last-minute invitation. "We planned to monitor her performance in this week's Evian tournament in France," Susan Simpson, the LGU's tournament director, said. "If she did well, we were going to get in touch, but now that she's agreed to play with the men that's presumably the end of it."

Judge, explain this statement to me since Michelle is not even playing in the Evian tournament.

Actually Joe, Wie has already withdrawn from the Richoh womens open. I thought the Richoh open wildcards had already been awarded.

But it's funny that she has chosen the week of the Evian ( to which she was neither invited nor given an exemption ) to go play with the boys.

Wonder which event brings more comments?

On hearing the news, the LGU said they had been considering a last-minute invitation. "We planned to monitor her performance in this week's Evian tournament in France," Susan Simpson, the LGU's tournament director, said. "If she did well, we were going to get in touch, but now that she's agreed to play with the men that's presumably the end of it."

Putt4parr,
My point was the remark that Susan Simpson made assuming that Michelle was actually playing in the Evian when in fact she wasn't. How could she be so misinformed?

Judge Smails,

It seems that a whole new generation of Wie-wee's has been hatched.

While only putt4par has re-surfaced since Bubbles disqualification on the pitch and putt layout at the State Farm, Ghet Rheel, Jim C, Norman and the other Wiebots remain AWOL, MIA, or DOA.

But now Constructionist comes on the scene with the revelation that Bubbles is not the only female who has the game to tee it up with the men, several others girls have what it takes to compete successfully on the PGA tour. He doesn't explain how he arrived at this far-fetched conclusion. He apparently is not phased with the fact that none of the ladies he mentioned has shown any attempt or even the desire to do the impossible.

Then he is "one upped" by Art who apparently believes it is a foregone conclusion that Bubbles will easily make the cut at The Reno-Tahoe. Again, no reason for his optimism.

I think they have been overly impressed with Bubbles' improvement of late since she went into the tank about two years ago.

What they don't see is that her two best outings this year were in Munich and at Springfield on two relatively short, flat, wide open courses, with practically non-existent rough, and shallow dimples for bunkers. One par five at Panther Hollow was actually 476 yards. Holes of that length at Montreux are average par four's.

The severely sloping lateral terrain at Reno-Tahoe is another story. The rough is normally three to four inches and unforgiving. Two par fives are well over 600 yards. Bubbles will have a great deal of difficulty reaching those holes in THREE!

As I see it, the only way Bubbles---or any woman---could make the cut at that tournament would be if she were allowed to play from the women's tees.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the new Tournament Director, Michael Stearns, tries to decree as much and Finchem allows it.

Alex USMC 1969-73

complete lack of a game to support the ridiculous hype and millions she's received.

Good grief Smudge, you are still crying the blues over the money Michelle is getting. Yes, I know it is difficult for you to accept that Michelle earns seven times more than you will earn in 30 years. Life is just so unfair!

Well, she definitely POSSESSES millions, BUT I wouldn't exactly say she's EARNED these millions at this point - considering on the LPGA leader board, all she can do is PLACE. -- While other just as legitimate teenage talents (Creamer, Pressel, Feng Tseng; etc.) are actually FINISHING and WINNING multiple events.

No one in their right mind believes she hasn't the talent. But she is a MAJOR MAJOR head case if she thinks that even if she WERE to win the lottery and MAKE a PGA cut, it would actually do ANYTHING but further DEMEAN the women's game.

I want to know what happened to the Wie-Heads that supported her contention that she could someday COMPETE and WIN on the PGA tour and the MASTERS!?

Listen, she'll perform a MIRACLE at Reno if she's able to keep it UNDER 80 for either of the first two rounds - even WITH the atmospheric advantage. Let's all try to live in the real world here people.

Michelle Wie missed the cut at the Reno-Tahoe Open when it was discovered that she had played with 15 clubs in her bag. When asked about the oversight, Michelle said, "Well I thought it would be okay."

Michelle's 65 at the State Farm Classic was only the second time since she went pro that she posted that score. This score is posted every week by different LPGA pros and it has become almost common place. Ochoa just shot a 65 in the Ricoh Open first round and it will be reported as business as usual. How many believe that Michelle will break 80 in Reno? If she stays out of the rough she might have a chance at it.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — In an initial version of a July 19 story about Michelle Wie's disqualification from the State Farm Classic, The Associated Press erroneously reported a quote from Sue Witters, the LPGA's director of tournament competitions. Witters said: "She was like looking at a little kid after you tell them there's no Santa Claus." In the original story, the words "looking at" were deleted.
The Associated Press

It looks like Witters has been very busy with damage control.

putt4par,

Not to nitpick, but the Evian is going on right now, and the Reno-Tahoe won't begin until next Thursday.

Also, Bubbles didn't choose to play, Stearns chose her.

Alex USMC 1969-73

Joe Cool,

What's with you guys?

Lorena shot the 65 in the Evian!

Alex USMC 1969-73

Wie in another men's tournament. That's a laugh.

Ahh, I stand/sit corrected, Alex. The question was which Tournament would get more commentary, I think Wie and LR-TO have already one that pi$$ing match, hands down.

As far as who picked who, it's alot like the chicken or the egg question. ( Joe Cool might have the correct answer )

Good GOD Alex, you got me on that one. Oh woe is me, masta, woe is me. How could I have made such a mistake. I will never, ever, ever do that again. You are 110% correct Alex, Lorena IS playing in the Evian Master tournament and NOT the Ricoh Open.

It seems that the reason that Michelle rushed off from the scorers tent, was to sign autographs.

A little over two years ago, just after the Rolex World Rankings were introduced, Bubbles was actually ranked at one time as Number Two, despite having zero wins and only having played in a small number of events.

When a few Wie skeptics questioned the authenticity of the rankings, Wie Warriors such as Jim C and Norman smugly advised that the rankings were official and therefore should not be questioned.

Now that Bubbles is OFFICIALLY ranked at a sterling 299, it would be interesting to get the take on this development from some of the better known Wiebots, How about it, Jim C, what say you?

Alex USMC 1969-73

It was mentioned that Michelle is taking Japanese and calculus at Stanford. After reading one of her interviews at the Reno-Tahoe tournament, I think she better start taking English 101. If you eliminated "lot of fun" "learning experience" "focus" "stuff" "control" Michelle would be mute. How does a Stanford freshman have the vocabulary of a seventh grader? Keep her away from the interviews, please! At least this time she did not say awesome.

Joe Cool,

Yes, her statements sound much like an Obama speech. I just waiting for her to say, "I hope I'll change and achieve unity with the PGA Tour."

Alex,

Yes, 299, that's quite a ranking. Some would say she's better than that, but, hey, official rankings must be respected.

Alex,
Michelle shot an 81 with three birdies in the pro-am. I am waiting for her to say, "I really don't think my score reflects the way I played."
"I missed a couple of shots and had some bad breaks, however, I think I played very well."

HELP!

Judge,
Why don't they round it off to the big 300?

Joe,

Patience, Bubbles will cross that threshold in no time. Only, I don't think she'll actually remain at 300 very long.

If you want to understand Michelle Wie's decisions, you have to follow the money trail. IMG and Nike have made her famous and continue to keep her a "name" in golf.

Judge Smails,

If you might need a little comic relief from a hard day's work, look up the PGA's promotional video on their website, the one about Bubbles.

They refer to her eighth attempt at making a PGA cut as her "historic quest."

Not long ago, that sort of hyperbole was reserved for monumental achievements like Marco Polo's trek across Asia, Magellan's circumnavigation of the Earth, and Lewis and Clark's exploration of the American West.

More recent achievenments might be those of Charles Lindbergh, Sir Edmund Hillary, and the Apollo astronauts.

In sports, the only things that might come close to "historic quests" would be if a major league baseball player had hit in fifty straight games and was therefore approaching DiMag's 1941 mark, or if a pro golfer was sitting on 10 straight PGA victories and Byron's mark was being threatened.

Bubbles playing two rounds at about ten strokes over par surely doesn't qualify as a "historic quest."

Alex USMC 1969-73

Yes, Alex, the language has been so bastardized. The word "hero" is used very loosely now as well.

The "historic quest" came to a sad ending when Michelle took 5 strokes to advance the ball 40 yards on a very mean par five hole for a double bogey. When this mishap prevented her from making the cut, she then proceeded to take a "dreaded nine" on a par four hole to end the quest forever? Look out Canada, here I come!

Well Soo...It's Friday, and guess what...we don't have to watch Wie-Wee this weekend...AGAIN!! BONUS Weekend!!!

I would like to respond to a stupid suggestion found above, and elsewhere. Michelle Wie should play the last 5 Futures events and try to take an LPGA tour card away from one of the Future Tour players who have been playing on the tour all year hoping to win an LPGA card. Don't think the people who are advising her to do this wouldn't turn on her if the player who missed out on a card didn't complain about a millionaire taking away her dream.