This debate has come up countless times before on far more sites than just this one, and this needn't be yet another thread in which the same arguments are rehashed.
Needless to say, she's got more talent than perhaps anyone else out there, and as of right now, she's a failure in the context of her stated goals...while there may be no conclusive "right" way to do things, I do not believe you will find anyone arguing that where we're at right now is the result of sound strategy and responsible decision-making.
So Ryan, despite the numerous discussions about Wie's myriad mistakes, you still can't say what those were? Sure. Makes sense.
You seem concerned about whether there was a sound strategy and responsible decision making. I don't think it made sense for a girl that made it to the Round of 8 to worry about AJGA events like her contemporaries Creamer and Pressel, especially since she lives in Hawaii. If I'm not mistaken, the period in question was before the USGA allowed amateurs to receive expenses from sponsors to travel to events. The decision to eschew junior events for other things seems 'sound' to me.
The worst decision I saw was to continually worry about male professional events in 2006 and 2007. Still, it wouldn't have mattered if she skipped all of them...she'd be in the same place today.
What I saw when I watched her about five years ago was not that unusual, really, if you looked at her physically. Every high school has a few 9th grade girls that matured early. There was no upside. Contrast that to Thompson who the announcers said has grown 6" since her appearance in the US Open last year.
Dan's right about the quality of play. I know every blade of grass on that course and I'm very impressed by what I watched today. The scores are lower than I thought they'd be - at least 2 or 3 shots on average. This doesn't bode well for Wie making Shiv's goal of multiple Majors.
Wie is an illustrative example that many girls lose their competitive edge as they get older, which is not the case with boys. I wonder how many of these teenie queenies in the field will be playing at this level in six years. Where are Aree and Naree? I don't think Wie will be the only one who peaks young and fades. Happens all the time in tennis.
I can tell you plenty of times where I think she made the mistakes, I just didn't see it necessary to do that YET AGAIN in this thread. The arguments have been made before on hundreds of occasions within GCA alone...and I see little upside to spending my time doing so since you will likely respond with a "well, there's no proof that would have been better for her" which is true, so neither one of us can prove right or wrong in any scenario here. What is there to gain?
The end of it all is this: If a sound strategy is devised, and if it is followed, and if the player has the talent and mind and other necessary tools to be a success, it stands to reason that they will be successful. If the player is not successful, there are 3 possible explanations: 1) they didn't have the chops, 2) an intervening factor came up...accident, physical malady...which does not include Wie's wrist issue, or 3) a poorly conceived strategy.
I started this whole journey as a huge Wie fan, and I watched and refreshed with baited breath as she tried to qualify at Canoe Brook.
I believe she has the chops physically, I thought she might have the chops mentally, though there were times I strongly doubted it, like her decision to chip on the 18th hole of the Dinah Shore, so her failure to achieve any measure of success by her definition of it has to come down to poor planning/strategy, in my opinion. And now, I think her noodle is shot...and this to me is not something that was there all along - it's something that developed by constantly losing, worrying about shooting 88, and witnessing all the media's messiah-ette predictions turn to ridicule columns overnight.
I agree that the mens professional thing was a joke, and would probably agree that it is the worst decision of them all.
By the way, didn't she withdraw from school? That to me seems like a terrible decision....either that she chose to withdraw in her first year or that she enrolled in the first place if she intended to withdraw.
Not playing the junior circuit to me is a big deal - I subscribe to the theory of winning breeds winning...especially for someone whose mental game is developing in a sport that is so mental.
This response is out of a logical order and I know that, but as I go along I find that I have many things to say on the subject but wonder if it's even worth saying because you or anyone else could say "How can you prove that?" and immediately my argument is underwater...just like I can say that about you...how can you prove that had she not played in the mens circuit that she'd be in exactly the same place today? If you believe the wrist had a major part in her downfall, were she not playing mens events wouldn't she not have injured it in the first place? I recall that it was in a mens event that she claims she first hurt it though I could be mistaken.
As I read your post again, I am not even sure what your position is on the whole topic?? Can you please state your position on Michelle Wie, her parents, and the state of her career?