Next month, we’re going to get treated to the Solheim Cup, the women’s version of the Ryder Cup—the pressure-filled tournament featuring the U.S. versus Europe--i.e., the only tournament you won't see any Koreans dominating. Two years ago, the Americans were crushed by the European team 17½ to 10½. This September, we want to win.

The team is comprised of ten players from the point standings and two selections made by the team captain. So ostensibly, team captain Nancy Lopez should be able to pick whoever she wants for spots 11 and 12, as long as it’s an American female.

So I have an idea: put Michelle Wie on the team.

Why Wie? If Wie had been an LPGA member these past two years, her points, with only 14 tournaments played, would rank her 14 on the Solheim list.

And that’s with only 14 tournaments played; compare that to Dorothy Delasin (currently on the bubble, 11th in the Cup standings). To garner her 341.5 points, she’s played in 41.

At the McDonald’s LPGA Championship this year, Michelle Wie came in 2nd. Delasin missed the cut. At the Weetabix Women’s British Open, Michelle Wie finished T3. Delasin missed the cut. At the Safeway International, where Michelle ended T12, Delasin missed the cut. In the seven tournaments Wie played this year, she came out ahead of Delasin six times. Do we want Delasin on the team, or Michelle Wie?

And hey, let’s not just pick on Dorothy. Take a look at how Michelle’s performance compares to Cristie Kerr, currently #1 in the Cup standings. In the same seven tournaments, Michelle has come out ahead of Cristie four times, and tied with her once. Kerr has finished ahead of Wie only two out of seven times. If Michelle kept the cash, her earnings this year would be second only to Annika Sorenstam.

Wie is an American. She is a woman. Any captain who actually wants to win the Cup would want to have Wie on the team.

But it doesn’t sound like it’s going to happen. When asked about the possibility of tapping Wie, captain Nancy Lopez responded, “It would be unfair, I believe, to choose somebody who’s not on the LPGA Tour.”

Yeah, pitting a 15-year-old against a bunch of European pros would really be unfair, wouldn’t it?

You know, Bobby Jones never turned pro. By Lopez’s standards, I guess it would’ve been unfair to Walter Hagen to pick Jones for the Ryder Cup.

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