Are we done yet????!!!!!

[Alan Carter]

Can we be possibly be done on the Wie sweepstakes???!!!!?

When are  we going to force her only to the LPGA Tour to prove herself.

I used to be a Michelle Wie / I  can't wait until she is in the Tiger realm.

But, it is not ever going to happen.

Are we officially done yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Garland Bayley]

Come on Alan,

This is the good old US of A. You might as well be asking

Are we done with OJ yet?

Are we done with Jon Benet yet?

Surely you know the drill by now. These things come and go. For, some people they go too fast. For, others they go too slow.

I'll mark you down as in the "they go too slow" category.

As for me, I enjoy her efforts and watching her try something that hasn't been done before, and probably belong in the "they go to fast" category.

But no worries Alan, this thing too will pass.

[Chris Kane]

When are  we going to force her only to the LPGA Tour to prove herself.

I'm sure she'd play a lot more LPGA tournaments if the LPGA let her.    As it stands, she's limited to seven women's tournaments per year.  If she doesn't play the men's events, she's sitting at home.

[RJ_Daley]

Let's see, it is September, she is 16, and she is playing in all these men's events that she hasn't really qualified for, officially (other than invites)   That takes a place from a fellow struggling to break through the old fashion way, earning it.  How about, she stay home and do some school work.  I for one am getting sick of all the attention and interview time and such they give her, and her middle teen, inarticulate, shallow and pat responses about her precocious playing efforts and her so-called life as a phenom.  

She may already have enough endorsement money set aside to be an independent and wealthy young lady for a long time, golf or not.  But, what about going to school and learning something besides commenting on her game and putting prospects, and shopping?  Yeah, I hope we are done...

[John_Cullum]

That is pure nonsense about her not being able to play the LPGA. The tour makes it own rules. Right now the rule prevents her playing full time, but they have the power to change that and certainly would if asked by Wie.

This has become a painful experiment that needs to cease. She is not good enough to play against men of the caliber she is taking on. She loses support by the hour. Stop it now.

[JESII]

When are  we going to force her only to the LPGA Tour to prove herself.

"FORCE" her?

How is her course of action effecting any of your lives?

Do you know who gets into the tournaments if she doesn't play in them? It sure isn't someone that helps the tournament, and it sure isn't someone "deserving" of a spot.

How can you guys let this bother you enough to post it on a public website?

[John_Cullum]

I personally don't want to say the young lady lose her fanbase. She is very talented but she is becoming a tragic figure. That's the only reason I chimed in on this.

[JESII]

That's fine John, but why do we on here feel the need to tell her how to live her life?

[RJ_Daley]

Do you know who gets into the tournaments if she doesn't play in them? It sure isn't someone that helps the tournament, and it sure isn't someone "deserving" of a spot.

Sully, I don't think I can answer that specifically, as to who doesn't get in, because if I'm not mistaken, it could be someone different at every men's toon-a-mint she gets invited to.  But, my guess as to the kind of player that doesn't get in, is that fellow that has been sniffing around minor tours and perhaps the native son fine local player that never qualified at the Q school, or keeps falling just short.  The one that has the game at times, has won a few small events,  but didn't break through in a big one.  Maybe a Mario Tiziani sort of fellow that has been bouncing around for years, grinding, looking to light it up on one of these fleeting opportunities.  I could be wrong...

[Scott Stearns]

what is the first tee introduction like

"On the tee, from Hawaii, having missed nine cuts in ten tries, shot 80 something to blow the Womens Open...

They could even have one of those fishbowls behind the tee... "guess the tournament where M Wie made the cut, enter a drawing for a pizza"

[RJ_Daley]

That is  a riot Scott!  

[Garland Bayley]

How about this for a first tee introduction at the Ryder cup.

Having shot 10 over the first to days of the US Open to miss the cut, and having just last week been blown away by Shawn Micheel in the first round of the world match play championship, with one of the worst records in cup history, Tigger Woods.

No RJ it was not a riot, it was simply impolite.

[Phil Benedict]

6 over after 7 holes today, 11 over for the tournament.  Dead last.  She's living her dream, I guess.

[Mike_Sweeney]

It is just crazy that her advisors let her play on a 7500+ yard course.

[Scott Stearns]

this is the circus sideshow that she has become.  She'll keep getting invites because there are a lot of places where they haven't seen the bearded lady.

Better question is, what happens if she makes a cut?  finishes say, 50th.  It proves little.  Ok, so she was the "first" snce the Babe.  Meanwhile we (and more importantly, she) learns nothing about whether she could have beaten Pauls Creamer, Annika, Lorena Ochoa, or any of the otehr women grinding it out for the win that week.

no chance to win, or is it really no pressure to win?  I think these mens events make it easy for her.  At an LPGA event, the questions are when are you going to win, why didnt you win? why cant you beat all these people who seem to be able to play on Sunday?  Where were those last two birdies to get to 66 instead of 68 on Sunday?  LOTS more pressure than "hey, think you can break par?" at a mens event.

[John_Cullum]

That's fine John, but why do we on here feel the need to tell her how to live her life?

Jim

She and her family have made her a public figure. Their actions invite commentary.

[Scott Stearns]

15 majors means never having to worry about your Ryder Cup record.

[Mike_Sweeney]

That's fine John, but why do we on here feel the need to tell her how to live her life?

Jim

She and her family have made her a public figure. Their actions invite commentary.

Sully,

I understand what you are saying, but I think this is a commentary on her parents. She is not alone, as we all see parents push their kids in different directions.

Her handlers brought this on themselves, and if you are signing $3.0 million deals with South Korean developers, you are officially putting yourself "out there". In her case, she/they are playing both sides to their full advantage.

http://sports.yahoo.golfserv.com/gdc/news/article.asp?id=38985&tour=LPGA

_________________________________________

Wie was born and raised in Hawaii, but her parents are South Korean. She speaks fluent Korean, has a Korean name - Wie Sung-mi - and many of her relatives, including grandparents, live here.

Because of that background, many South Koreans consider her Korean. Local media often include Wie among "Korean" golf stars playing in the United States, and the news agency Yonhap referred to her latest trip to Korea as a "visit to homeland."

_____________________________________________

I don't know about your last trip to Ireland, but nobody thinks of me as anything but a Yank!

She seems like a nice girl, but come on, there are no "for the good of golf angels" in the Wie camp.

[Brad Klein]

Media note: Wie's handlers will stop the charade when ESPN and the Golf Channel don't make her news above the tournament leaders, and when it becomes obvious to Wie Inc. that the business model is counter-productive from a marketing standpoint. Shes a celebrity for now, but trending towards spectacle. Next stop is parody.

[Garland Bayley]

15 majors means never having to worry about your Ryder Cup record.

Sorry Scott,

But all current indications are that Tiger is beginning to worry about his Ryder Cup record.

[Lou_Duran]

Wie is unlike the some 100+ field fillers at every tournament: she draws better than some men ranked in the world's top 10.  Funny how markets work, but people want to see her at the expense of Harvey Schwartz (the itinerant pro who quite can't make it).  In the current tournament, she is ahead of two winners of major championships.  Whether this is good for her career, that's another issue and one that's best resolved by the people directly affected.  

BTW, I seldom go to tournaments but would make the effort if she was in town.  I am not sure that her recent "failures" will have a deleterious affect on her career.  I don't think the situation is analogous to bringing a young pitcher up who is not ready physically or mentally to meet the challenges.

The situation may be more similar to what we went through in high school basketball when we practiced with smaller rims for a couple of weeks before the season started.  For the first several games, the basket looked huge and we couldn't miss.  We will see.  

[Dan Herrmann]

Brad is right about parody.

She'll soon join Fonzie in jumping the shark.

[JESII]

That's fine John, but why do we on here feel the need to tell her how to live her life?

Jim

She and her family have made her a public figure. Their actions invite commentary.

Sully,

I understand what you are saying, but I think this is a commentary on her parents. She is not alone, as we all see parents push their kids in different directions.

I don't know about your last trip to Ireland, but nobody thinks of me as anything but a Yank!

She seems like a nice girl, but come on, there are no "for the good of golf angels" in the Wie camp.

John Cullum,

I just don't see the value in the commentary. Can you explain it to me?

Mike,

Honestly, my view of the Wie handlers is that they are in over their heads and her golf future will almost definitely suffer for it. You just cannot match winning as a breeding tool for long term success. But what can you do in this situation as an outsider? Offering help in some way wouldn't accomplish anything and offering criticism on this site (once a month) in the name of "delivering on the invitation for commentary of a public figure" as John Cullum and so many others position themselves holds no water with me. Lets just watch it happen and hope for the best for her.

By the way, I really do not think her parents are so wrapped up in the money as to let her do something they do not think is in her best interests, I just think they are the "return to the mean" case that goes opposite the Woods handlers.

[John_Cullum]

Jim

You seem to be in agreement with me that she is headed in the wrong direction. As to your question of what good does it do to criticize this charade, my response is that if it becomes apparent that she is losing support from her supporters, they will change the direction.

This rumbling is building to a crescendo throughout the golf world right now. We are just bit players, but it is all connected. Its the same as with J-lo or Brad or Tom Cruise. She's a celebrity now, and she will act accordingly or be doomed to oblivion.

[Rick Shefchik]

At the risk of being made to look foolish in the future -- which is always the case with speculation -- I will raise an alternative possibility: that next year, at age 17, with a tough year of experience under her belt and a more battle-hardened approach, Wie might actually make a PGA cut or two, win a couple of women's tournaments, turn the tide of negative publicity and get back on track with her career goals.

But that's the only way she will do it -- with her golf clubs. If she fails, well, the streets are filled with players whose reach exceeded their grasp. So what?