Baldwin: Wie gets free pass, while Morgan Pressel earns her way

In the more things change, the more they stay the same department or Chapter 55 in Why Winning Doesn't Matter to Wie, there's this ....

The organizers of the Samsung World Championship are giving Michelle Wie a sponsor's exemption to the hardest tournament to qualify for in women's pro golf. This despite the fact that Wie never broke par in any of her four rounds when she played in the World Championship on an exemption last year, finishing 17th out of 20 golfers.

Proving yourself is so overrated these days.

Maybe Samsung should simply hand Michelle the trophy before anyone tees off at the famed Bighorn. Hey, that would be great publicity too. They could probably come up with a study on how it would do wonders for Palm Springs tourism.

Of course, most of those not named Wie, actually have to earn things in life. Morgan Pressel got a spot in the World Championship by winning a major (becoming the youngest player to ever win one of women's golf's big ones in the process).

This isn't a question whether it's right for Wie to be given a sponsors exemption (corporations don't deal with right and wrong, only dollar signs). If Wie cared about what her peers think of her, she might have wanted to consider whether she should have taken it though.

We're not talking about a little tournament with a huge field. This is a 20-women event that's supposed to pit the elite of the elite against each other. Wie's taking a spot from a golfer who deserves it more.

There's no getting around that. Apparently, she doesn't care.

You can bet that many of the women will be sharing the LPGA's fairways with Wie for years do.

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