If she finishes in the top 20 today she is automatically exempt for next year, which should lower David Fay's blood pressure somewhat.

Some of the players against the exemption have made one valid point.  Wie should have gone through the qualifying just to experience how difficult that process can be to gain a greater appreciation down the line.  There's no doubt she will never have to do it again and her play speaks for itself.

How is it better that the USGA provide exemptions to over-the-hill veterans (a.k.a., Jack Nicklaus) for their economic benefit? Exemptions are a part of the professional golf experience, so if you defend one you can defend them all. The U.S. Open (men's or women's) is simply business. If you accept that then you can accept exemptions for the sake of enhancing the bottom line.

Said well Mike!

Wie is a great talent.  Obviously ESPN thinks so too, they showed every shot she made Thursday.
She should be there having qualified.  The Women's Open has become entertainment.  Entertainment is supposed to be the LPGA tour, not the US Open.

Right or wrong, NBC said on today's coverage that it was the most heavily attended U.S. Women's Open in history. Whether it was the location, the great competition, or the presence of a star like Wie, something worked.

Forget the draw that she represents, the need for her to play, how well she would stand if she was a pro & collecting money, or any of the these self-convincing rationales; the bottom line is that it is the single most important championship in women's golf and they should remember the importance of that.

It is hard enough to justify the giving of a special exemption into the U.S. Open, after all, it is only a few short years ago when Arnold Palmer was still playing well enough to contend on the men's tour when they made him qualify. In fact, that is one of the reason's that I rooted so hard for Arnie in my youth; if he could believe that the game was bigger than him, than who was I to disagree.

For me that is the ultimate problem with giving the exemption to Wie. Why is it such a loss if she FAILS to qualify? Doesn't this just elevate the importance of the championship to the level it deserves to be at.

One of the things that separates golf from all other sport or athletic endeavors is how its history is lived every day. Babe Ruth, Red Grange, Pele, Roger Bannister, Dick Weber, Jesse Owens, and so many other icons of their sports who reached mythical status have now become little more than answers to trivia questions, rolled out for inspection only when some modern players performance eclipses a record that has been relegated to a somewhat meaningless status. Not so in golf.

Bobby Jones is revered now as much, and if not more, than when he walked the fairways to cheers. So too Lord Byron, Sam Snead, Walter Hagen, and even further back to the Morrises both older & younger. In no other sport has been there so much written about the accomplishments of the past greats as there has been in golf, and continues to be so. Why else are so many of the discussions on this website the heated jousts that both entertain and provoke?

The difference between the history of golf and any other sport is shown by the Babe, Didrickson not Ruth. For all of her accomplishments in Track & Field, tennis and other sports, she is most remembered for her accomplishments on the golf course. Why is that? Her feats in the others were just as legendary. The answer though lies in the nature of our legends and why they remain so. The legends of golf are truly historic and conrinued from generation to generation.

That is why I believe it was so wrong for the USGA to give her this special exemption even though it can be so well-justified on a variety of levels.

By doing this the USGA has lowered the heights from which we look up at our legends. They have declared the history & traditions of the game to be a little less important. At a time when we need honor and appreciation for tradition in our lives, attacking that in even a small way is a slippery slope whose borders never should have been approached no less started down.
 

Philip,

Your post is hyperbole. Other sports honor their legends as well as or better than golf. Babe Ruth is a far more recognized name that Babe Didrickson, as are Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Hank Aaron. For that matter Didrickson is far more an answer to a trivia question than are Jesse Owens and Pele.

And are you referring to the same tradition-revering Arnold Palmer who endorsed non-conforming equipment a few years ago? Yes, the game is bigger than he, except when there's a buck to be made.

"Anybody want to complain about Michelle Wie?"

Not me!

Michele Wie earned her exemption. Only thing is she did it after the fact!  

If the kid could putt, she'd be a really dangerous 14 year old competitor!  

The decision to invite Michelle Wie to play in the Women's Open was brilliant deserved. Her performance not only justified the invitation, but only hinted at the level of golf we will see from her in the future.

I find the dissatisfaction of several comments on this board regarding the ability of the USGA to stage an event that is both a financial and an artistic success to be rather petty and perverse.

Is there anything wrong with the media and the public (both golfing and non-golfing) having something to be excited about in the world of golf? If it means giving an invitation to a remarkably talented and accomplished 14-year old girl, how is that a  bad thing? If it gets a 10 or 12-year old girl (or boy) watching on TV or going to the golf course excited and inspired enough to want to learn and play golf, isn't that one of the things the USGA should be trying to do?    

Mr. Mucci- When the USGA lets the conditions at Shinnecock get so ridiculous that over 40% of the field shoots 80 or higher on Sunday, all in the name of "protecting par," is that not a class A-1 example of letting the ends justify the means? Do you approve of that?

DT

Meg Mallon's final-round 65 tied a U.S. Women's Open record; she shot -10, 274 for the tourney.

All of professional golf blows - but the women's game is just silly.