It seems that Michelle Wie is, for now, giving up on competing against men and instead focusing on the LPGA Tour - and her parents are fine with that decision.

Let's face it, this is a good decision: Wie, 17, who says she intends to one day play the Masters, has had a terrible record in the PGA Tour events she has entered, missing the cut 11 out of 12 times. In her last three men's events, she has come in near last each time. Maybe she is listening to Stuart Appleby?

Her coach, David Leadbetter, is putting a good spin on it.

"She hasn't got any PGA Tour events planned at the moment," Leadbetter is quoted in the Australian as saying today. "She's going to commit herself to the LPGA and play a number of events and next year she'll probably take up membership."

The Australian article continues to quote Leadbetter: "She just needs to get her confidence going and just go play. Now is the time to establish herself. My feelings are that if she plays week in and week out on the LPGA she would win eight or nine times a year. She has the potential to be that good, so why not, if you want to fulfill your potential."

Wie's been sidelined since the beginning of this year with a wrist injury. The last event she played in was the men's Sony Open in Hawaii in January.

What do Wie's parents, who have encouraged her campaigns against the best in men's golf, say to this change of heart? Leadbetter says they seem resigned to it. The novelty is over, Leadbetter says.

"It's all well and good to play a couple of (men's) events as a novelty, now let's look at a long term plan. She's young and young players tend to blow off (bad performances) but having said that, it's human nature, you don't want to be beaten up the whole time.

"She's the greatest talent I've ever seen at 16, boy or girl," Leadbetter says.

Wie has received a sponsor's exemption to play the LPGA's Ginn Tribute later this month.

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