Semi-OT: Did Michelle Wie just save the LPGA?

[Phil McDade]

Sometimes in sports you see something happen, and it's a pretty transcendent moment -- Jordan going off for 63 against Bird and the Celtics, Tiger at Augusta in '97.

I wonder if we'll look back at this weekend at Rich Harvest and think the same thing about the Big Wie-sy.

I saw a player:

-- Hitting some shots that no other female player in the game seems capable of;
-- Playing incredibly good golf, under (easily) the biggest spotlight of any of the 24 players competing;
-- Playing really good golf in tremendous pressure situations, sometimes put there by her partners, sometimes by her opponent, e.g., her approach for an eagle on the second hole, after Alfredsson had stuffed one to three feet, is one of the great pressure shots I've ever seen, by any player.
-- Having a lot of fun.

Does anyone think she wasn't the best, most compelling player out there? If it's like pick-up basketball, and you're the captain, and you've your pick of any of those 24 players for a three-day match-play tourney, does anyone not pick here first?

[Joe Bausch]

Did U No Hu just save the LPGA with her performance this week?

No.

And as many know, I'm a big fan of Wie.  She tends to try to hit the shot required for a situation, whether it is a soft cut, a low punch, etc.  And I really admire that.  Not many of the guys on the men's tour have the courage/game to always hit the type of shot best suited for the moment.

She needs to go on a nice little run and win 6 of 8 tournaments, or something like that, before she can "save the LPGA".  IMO.  Sort of similar to what Nancy Lopez did way back, when was it, around 1977?

[JSlonis]

I'm not sure about saving the LPGA just yet.  But I sincerely hope for her sake that her performance over the last three days will catapult her on to bigger and better things. I was very impressed by her play.  She has more raw talent than anyone on either team.

She has an absolutely beautiful golf swing and it sounds like shes in good hands with her short game if she continues to work with Dave Stockton.  I hope she has turned the corner. 

Obviously, the LPGA would be thrilled if she started to realize her potential and began to win.

[Joe Hancock]

I imagine the viewership numbers will bear out the fact that her play didn't save anything. More people need to see her when she's playing good, exciting golf.

Joe

[Dean Stokes]

Are you serious? She plays a couple of rounds of matchplay in an event that half the world wouldn't even know was happening and you're already asking questions like that.

There is definitely a position for you on the golf channel on one of it's very dismal shows such as the 19th hole. Argue away about hypotheticals, what if's, could she's and maybe's.

[K. Krahenbuhl]

I imagine the viewership numbers will bear out the fact that her play didn't save anything. More people need to see her when she's playing good, exciting golf.

Joe

agreed.  It wasn't even on network TV.

[Joe Bausch]

I imagine the viewership numbers will bear out the fact that her play didn't save anything. More people need to see her when she's playing good, exciting golf.

Joe

agreed.  It wasn't even on network TV.

Remember:  Monday Night Football is no longer on network TV either.   

[JSlonis]

Are you serious? She plays a couple of rounds of matchplay in an event that half the world wouldn't even know was happening and you're already asking questions like that.

There is definitely a position for you on the golf channel on one of it's very dismal shows such as the 19th hole. Argue away about hypotheticals, what if's, could she's and maybe's.

Regardless of the viewership of the event, don't you think that to these players, this event was about as pressure packed as it gets for them?  The Ryder Cup isn't a major either, but I've seen some extremely poor shots played over the years, as well as some extremely great ones.  I would think that the pressure of the event is felt by the players.

[Dean Stokes]

Are you serious? She plays a couple of rounds of matchplay in an event that half the world wouldn't even know was happening and you're already asking questions like that.

There is definitely a position for you on the golf channel on one of it's very dismal shows such as the 19th hole. Argue away about hypotheticals, what if's, could she's and maybe's.

Regardless of the viewership of the event, don't you think that to these players, this event was about as pressure packed as it gets for them?  The Ryder Cup isn't a major either, but I've seen some extremely poor shots played over the years, as well as some extremely great ones.  I would think that the pressure of the event is felt by the players.

What has that got to do with MW saving the LPGA tour today?

[J_ Crisham]

Jamie,  I would agree with your comments. The attendance at Rich Harvest Farms was pretty amazing. I intended to go today but passed on it when I heard how large the gallerys were. Another spin is that she was not allowed any family interaction/distraction this week. I wish Michelle Wie all the best.            Jack

[Dean Stokes]

Jack I too wish her all the best and have no doubt in the future she will become the #1 lady golfer in the world.

That however has nothing to do with her saving the LPGA this week which was the question. I did not watch the event along with many other golfers I know, so without the benefit of being a member of GCA i would not have known how she played this weekend - and I really still don't.

[Phil Benedict]

I thought the most impressive thing she did was make a routine birdie on 18 when she absolutely had to have it.  Driver, 5-iron, two putts.  It was almost Tiger-like.

She still has much to prove but with all that game, that swing and loads of charisma the sky is the limit. 

[Jeff_Brauer]

It did seem like a coming of age for MW, and I can see the logic that connects the dots - she builds on this week, she starts winning, interest in the LPGA continues to build.  All we can say for now that this seems to be her best week ever.  I hate to say it, because its not PC, but in reality, Wie, Creamer, etc. are finally giving the LPGA enough sex appeal to get a crossover casual male audience.  And, once they get them, I think the golf was good enough to hold them to watch again.

I watched the SC for the first time and I will watch again. I suspect that many who did would say the same thing. It was nearly as exciting as the best Ryder Cup, as exciting as most Ryder Cups and better than most President's Cups, where the players don't really seem to care much.

So hats off to the ladies. I did hear some commentary that the SC was sort of on life support, and in Europe, they felt the Euros had to win to save it.  I hope a great competition was enough.

[John_Conley]

So hats off to the ladies. I did hear some commentary that the SC was sort of on life support, and in Europe, they felt the Euros had to win to save it.  I hope a great competition was enough.

US - Korea then.

[Matt_Ward]

Phil:

Hiow bout we take a slight respite with all the hype and allow Michelle to actually win some tournaments -- like starting with her first and going from there.

There's no doubt that MW does draw a crowd and the good thing about Solheim Cup week was the way in which Team Captain Daniel made it a point to have Wie join the team and not be hanging out with her parents. It's time for MW to grow up and reach her potential. The LPGA has deep-seated and long term issues -- MW can be a major catalyst in putting the brakes on its continuous slide.

Like the Chinese say -- the longest part of the journey starts with the first step. Let's see MW win a tournament and see what mometum she can then generate.

p.s. One final comment -- good to see her learning from Dave S on short game and putts. If there was one area MW could really stand to gain from is Stockton's insights.

[Jeff Shelman]

What I hope is that Michelle and her parents realize that she can do just fine without them there at every turn.

I watched some over the weekend and it looked like she was having fun. It doesn't always seem like she's having fun when mom and dad are constantly hovering.

[Craig Sweet]

Michelle Wie was very good....the Golf Channel sucks....totally bad coverage....everything about it was bad.

[Jeff_Brauer]

I was lucky enough to play in a pro am with Stockton not once, but twice.  I got a playing putting lesson with some insights that were really good, not that anyone who has played with me recently would notice, though!

I remember his saying there is no such thing as an inside rdge putt.  He said to aim any putt with break OUTSIDE the hole. His reason was that we tend to line the put up as if it has to go in the center of the hole, but in reality a breaking putt should enter somewhere on the side.  He had a surprising bit of math and angles and stuff to prove it to my satisfaction.  Add the 1/4 to 1/2 inch outside of center you should be aiming for, the ball width and the hole width, and he had it figured to where you ALWAYS aimed it outside the lip on a gentle breaker.

To get back on topic, Wie had two putts on 16 and 17 to close out the match that I was thinking she probably didn't give enough break, or at least for the speed she putted them.  To be fair, the both seemed like nice putts that could have gone in if just a "Wie" bit harder......

[Garland Bayley]

...To be fair, the both seemed like nice putts that could have gone in if just a "Wie" bit harder......

Jeff,

Groan. 
Why did you have to ruin a perfectly good thread with that?
 

It has been my impression that MW has not been a closer. She failed to close the door on Yani Tseng a long time ago when she had her well down late in the match, and hasn't closed anything since.

The PGA Tour pros all write and talk about the Ryder cup being the most pressure packed tournament of their golfing lives. For Michelle to have proven to be a closer in the analog to that is a big event. It could hint at a bright future for the LPGA. Obviously, nothing can truly be concluded from it though.

I find the Ryder, President's, and Solheim Cup events to be the most compelling golf to watch. Perhaps I don't understand, but I don't see how you can distinguish very much between the play of the men and the women on TV, or between the shots they hit. You cannot truly see a player hit just the draw or fade needed to produce a particular shot. You can see what looks like it might draw or given the result must have drawn, but you can't truly see the execution from what they show you on TV. The tracer technology of the last few years can show you after the fact, but is not used that much. So what is there to watch that is other than boring golf swings and putts. IMO it is the drama. These team competitions have it in spades over regular tour events, and the majors. For example, Phil's first Masters win was a dramatic and exciting Masters to watch, but basically it was Phil against Ernie. Today we had 12 analogs to Phil vs. Ernie going on all at the same time.

For the above reasons, I have to wonder if professional golf couldn't make more TV money by dividing in to 2x franchise teams, and holding x number of Ryder Cup style competitions every week for a couple of months. The fall season have lackluster TV viewship? Put in 8 weeks of league play this way and see if you don't capture some of the drama of this type of event that can be witnessed so much better on TV than at the course.

[jeffwarne]

I was lucky enough to play in a pro am with Stockton not once, but twice.  I got a playing putting lesson with some insights that were really good, not that anyone who has played with me recently would notice, though!

I remember his saying there is no such thing as an inside rdge putt.  He said to aim any putt with break OUTSIDE the hole. His reason was that we tend to line the put up as if it has to go in the center of the hole, but in reality a breaking putt should enter somewhere on the side.  He had a surprising bit of math and angles and stuff to prove it to my satisfaction.  Add the 1/4 to 1/2 inch outside of center you should be aiming for, the ball width and the hole width, and he had it figured to where you ALWAYS aimed it outside the lip on a gentle breaker.

Jeff,
Stockton was/is a short game wonder.

Another point amateurs fail to appreciate is that to start a putt at the edge, they usually need to aim outside the edge due to the effect of the sidehill lie you're standing on when you putt which affects the line the ball starts on.

The golf world needs more imaginative short game wizards/teachers like Stockton and less method/dogma theories and 64 degree wedges

[Jeff_Brauer]

Jeff,

In some ways, Pelz studies on break (i.e. average players allow for only half to third of average break) have their place. I often wondered if Dave was simply saying the same thing - it breaks more than you think! (and that is why you tend to miss low and I tend to make more putts)

For all the Pelz dogma, when I took his one day class, they had us all guess the break of a putt.  The actual break of that putt was exactly twice the average of the dozen guesses in our group, proving his theory in a very graphic way.

[Dan Herrmann]

I thought Wie did great, and finally started to act like an adult.  She really needs to get away from her parents like most 19 year olds - let her grow up.

Unfortunately for the LPGA, all the good Wie did was overshadowed by the horrible sportsmanship of Chrstina Kim, who acted like a 10 year old.

[Jay Flemma]

Two Questions for Michelle:

Isn't it more fun playing at your level?

Isn't it more fun without your guardian angels hanging over you all the time?

Garland is right...have cities form franchises and draft teams...Boston vs. NY vs. LA. vs Denver vs. Chicago vs. Florida, etc.  Nicklaus posited the idea in 1985 and got shot down...but I think it's better than three tour challenges and skins games.

[jeffwarne]

Jeff,

In some ways, Pelz studies on break (i.e. average players allow for only half to third of average break) have their place. I often wondered if Dave was simply saying the same thing - it breaks more than you think! (and that is why you tend to miss low and I tend to make more putts)

For all the Pelz dogma, when I took his one day class, they had us all guess the break of a putt.  The actual break of that putt was exactly twice the average of the dozen guesses in our group, proving his theory in a very graphic way.

Jeff-Pelz is absolutely right that putts break more than amateurs (oe even pros) think.
That doesn't make it HIS theory alone though.

[Brent Hutto]

Jeff,

Not to make it sound religious, but sometimes we can only hear the truth if it is spoken by the right person. Some people may take to heart advice from geeky Dave Pelz that they would never give a second thought to from old Dave Stockton. Others may find Stockton's life experience and Tour cred much more persuasive than Pelz's appeals to "Science!".

Kind of like when you're 14, your dad can tell you something and it makes him an idiot. Your best friend tells you the same thing and he's it's the straight dope. Same truth, different listeners I guess.