Ugh, enough already!

[Rockford35]

Wie's whinings....

CRANS-SUR-SIERRE, Switzerland -- Michelle Wie defended her right to compete on the men's tour and said she wanted to play in the Ryder Cup some day as she prepared for this week's European Masters.

Wie, making her first appearance on the men's European Tour, will play alongside England's Nick Dougherty and Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano in the opening two rounds on the Crans-sur-Sierre course.

In nine previous appearances on the men's tour, Wie had missed the cut in eight events before finally making her breakthrough at the SK Telecom Open in Korea in May.

"There are going to be some people that aren't happy with me playing in men's tournaments," Wie said as she looked ahead to the start of the tournament on Thursday.

"I am not expecting 100 percent support every week but that is the way the world works. There are going to be people that support me and others that don't but I feel people here have been very supportive and welcoming.

"I am not just doing it for the support I get, I am doing it for myself and my own self happiness. I love playing men's events and the challenge. I feel an adrenaline rush when I play these events and it is a lot of fun."

Wie also said she would like to qualify for the U.S. Ryder Cup team in the future.

"Hopefully, I will be able to play the Ryder Cup one day, that would be awesome and I think it is totally possible," she said.

"Anything is possible in the future ... we are starting to get stronger and work out more and are mentally tough and we can do it."

Wie tested her game on Tuesday when she joined European Ryder Cup player Sergio Garcia in a practice round.

"Playing with Sergio this morning was awesome," she said. "It is the first time playing with him and he is such a great player I learned a lot playing with him today."

But Garcia believes the high school student from Hawaii will struggle to make the halfway cut this week.

"Michelle is definitely an extraordinary player and hits the ball quite a long way for a woman," said Garcia.

"Hopefully she will do well this week but if she had a higher ball flight it would be a bit easier for her.

"It is not an easy golf course and her short game will have to be sharp. She struggled today to hit some of the greens in two."

Some of the game's leading players, including Australia's Adam Scott and New Zealand's Michael Campbell, believe Wie should first win on the women's tour before seeking to compete alongside the men.

Wie has accepted an invitation to the PGA Tour's 84 Lumber Classic next week and wants to play more against the men.

Wie also responded to Jean Van de Velde's call in October to allow men to compete in the Women's British Open.

"My perspective on this is that the British Open is not called the Men's British Open, it is the British Open," she said.

"The PGA, it's called the Professional Golfers' Association. There is no men's Professional Golfers' Association whereas the LPGA is called the Ladies Professional Golfers' Association and the British Open is called the Women's British Open so I think it is very clear."



Doesn't she get it? I mean, who doesn't get this?

Just makes me furious...

R35

 

[DaveE]

Wie also said she would like to qualify for the U.S. Ryder Cup team in the future.

"Hopefully, I will be able to play the Ryder Cup one day, that would be awesome and I think it is totally possible," she said.


R35

Proving only that she is 16 and her daddy has told her she can do anything.

I expect that at some point she will win a bunch of tournaments on the ladies tour but it would be nice if she would do it at least once before thinking she can make the Ryder Cup team.

 

[Rockford35]

Ya think?

I wanna make the Ryder cup team too. But I can't.

You know why? Because a) I haven't won a fecking think on the PGA Tour, and nor will I ever, and b) because I'm Canadian and the rest of the world has a pure hatred for us when it comes to organized golf events like this.

R35

 

[Mors Ab Alto]

I love Michelle Wie, like creepy old guy restraining order love, and always root for her, but I am beginning to not like her.

I, like most people, thought it would be cool for her to play in a men's event and make the cut, and I, like most people, figured I'd give her 1 or 2 chances to make the cut. When she didn't I figured she'd go to the LPGA, dominate, and then try the men's tour again in 2 or 3 years. Unfortunately, I think she is beginning to believe her own hype. Those in her inner circle are probably telling her she can win on the men's tour, and that playing on the ladies' tour would be a step down. With her endorsments giving her more money than most players on the LPGA make, it's hard for her to argue.

For her it's a win-win situation. If she makes the cut and does well in a men's event, she can throw that in everyone's face. If she doesn't, all she has to say is that she's 16, she's female, and she's playing against men, so what do you want? Either way, she sees no real negative recourse coming from her not playing on the LPGA. And as long as sponsors keep letting her play in their tournaments, and as long as people are still watching and talking about it, she will continue.

Michelle, you've been playing against amateurs your whole life, and you didn't beat them all (remember Christina Kim?), so what makes you think you can beat professional women, much less men?

Call me .

 

[VtDivot]

I would still.... even if she misses the cut.

 

[mont86]

I love Michelle Wie, like creepy old guy restraining order love, and always root for her, but I am beginning to not like her.

I, like most people, thought it would be cool for her to play in a men's event and make the cut, and I, like most people, figured I'd give her 1 or 2 chances to make the cut. When she didn't I figured she'd go to the LPGA, dominate, and then try the men's tour again in 2 or 3 years. Unfortunately, I think she is beginning to believe her own hype. Those in her inner circle are probably telling her she can win on the men's tour, and that playing on the ladies' tour would be a step down. With her endorsments giving her more money than most players on the LPGA make, it's hard for her to argue.
Michelle, you've been playing against amateurs your whole life, and you didn't beat them all (remember Christina Kim?), so what makes you think you can beat professional women, much less men?

Call me .

Alto hope you don't mind if I quote you that way I won't have to plagirize you.
In short what alto said...

 

[warbirdlover]

It just goes to show what media hype can do. She has no business playing in men's tournaments. She has done nothing on the LPGA. She does not deserve all these opportunities. There are other women golfers far more deserving of chances to play the men and probably would do much better. She is cute though (in a spoiled rotten, bratty kind of way).

 

[Augster]

She has done nothing on the LPGA.

Whoa. That's a bit too far I think.

She has only played 7 events with the women this year. One of them the match play. The others are the 4 majors, then the Evian (the equivalent to the 5th major), and the Fields Open she plays in Hawaii at the beginning of the year.

In the ladies British she finished T26, for a cool 18K.

In the 3 other majors she had a T5 and two T3's. In the Evian she was T2. In the Field's she finished solo 3rd.

If you throw out the British, as it was her FIRST time playing the British and it's a little different over there, her AVERAGE finish against the women is 3.2.

So if "nothing" is averaging a third place finish against the best female fields in the world, I'd like to see what you'd think of someone averaging a tied 10th against those same fields.

Here is Wie and Annika head to head this year (stroke play events).

British, Wie T26, Sorenstam T31
Evian, Wie T2, Sorenstam T8
US Open, Wie T3, Sorenstam 1st.
LPGA, Wie T5, Sorenstam T9.
Kraft, Wie T3, Sorenstam T6.

The ONLY tourney Annika was better was the W she put up at the US Open. Wie was only 2 shots out of the playoff and shot a terrible 73 in the final round, her worst round of the week.

And this is only THIS YEAR. Going back to last year, you'll see more of the same.

Against the ladies she's almost always top 5. If she really felt she "needed" a win, she'd just find a tournament where nobody in the top 10 is playing and apply for a sponsor's exemption. Unfortunately, since she is not an official LPGA member, she is limited in the number of LPGA events she can actually play. Thus she chooses to play in the majors.

I totally agree with DaveE about the Ryder Cup comments. She's 16 and is still dreaming big. Hell, she could be President someday.

In order for her to make the Ryder Cup, she'd have to accumulate a lot of top 10's over a 2-year span. Right now, she's not making cuts, let alone top 10's against the men. She maybe thinking when she gets older and better, but the competition is only going to get better also.

I'd love to see her do it, but I don't think it's possible. I think she'd have had a much better chance to play at Augusta as an amatuer after winning the Men's Publinks. She couldn't get it done. On her behalf though, at least the guy she lost to won it and played the Masters.

 

[Rockford35]

When she touches Annika's track record on the LPGA, then and only then would it be justified for her to even attempt playing on the PGA Tour.

Nothing short of that will change my mind. Prove yourself worthy before assuming you should be there.

R35

 

[sidvicious]

she is where she is ONLY because she is absolutely beautiful; a long, tall, drink of water.

if it were otherwise, then we'd be talking about other players.

challenging the men adds a bit of lustre to her media value, but in sum, its her looks. if another less attractive but equally skilled player tried the pga, we wouldn't hear that much about it.

 

[Mors Ab Alto]

I will admit, she has done extremely well for a 16 year old. 4 top 5's out of 5 majors is quite an accomplishment. Unfortunately, it doesn't mean she can play well against men who have been playing longer than she's been alive.

She has yet to show that she can maintain the composure required to close out a tournament. The Evain Masters was the best example of that. She just doesn't seem to have that killer instinct yet, and at this age, I'm not sure she should.

Until she does get that ability to rise to the occasion when the pressure is on her, she should stick to the LPGA. Rack up some multiple win seasons, THEN try to qualify for the US Open again. If she earns her way into the field, then and only then will she be seen as worthy to play.

She almost did this year. If she had stayed in Hawaii, she would have qualified, since the eventual qualifier (a 14 year old boy) was nowhere near her skill. Instead, she flew to New York and tried to qualify there, due to the fact that the US Open was held in that eare, as well as the fact that it's the media center of the country.

Can you say BACKFIRE!?!?!

 

[Adam Pettman]

Isnt she limited to the amount of LPGA events she can play and therefore if she wants to play more she has to play in the mens events.

 

[ualtim]

Isnt she limited to the amount of LPGA events she can play and therefore if she wants to play more she has to play in the mens events.

She is limited to 7 LPGA events as she is not 18 years of age and does not have a waiver to play in more.

Personally, I do not have a problem with Wie in men's events as it is up to the tournement to decide who it will give exemptions to and they are going to put in whoever they can to get more attention for their tournement. If I recall correctly, there were a lot of the same opinions voiced when a young Tiger Woods received so many expemtions when he turned pro by some of his fellow pros and media outlets but that seems have been forgotten.

She is 16. How many 16 year old men could compete so well at a PGA Tour event? It would not surprise me if she attempted Q-school once she graduates high school. Would you all have to same issues if she earned her tour card via Q-School?

 

[Mors Ab Alto]

Would you all have to same issues if she earned her tour card via Q-School?

Absolutely not, because she will have earned her way on. In the process, she will have beaten quite a few tour caliber players.

 

[ironman]

Expecations tends to muck up a good game

Wie can talk all Wie wants.
All that talk's adding expectations on Michelle.
Expecations tends to muck up a good game.
Somebody remind Michelle to save the talk
For when she's won something
And that'll come for her soon enough.
Michelle winning march needs to
Catch to her marketing mouth.