There's no crying in golf, unless it's Michelle Wie at the U.S. Open

So Wie is as dead as Goosen now I guess? Let's see, she finished as well as perhaps the greatest women's golfer off all-time, Annika, but she is done now. I see.

Your blogs and predictions are becoming increasingly erratic. Next you'll say that Tiger is done for his career, and then proceed to explain how Jack Nicklaus never was any good.

And what of Creamer, Ochoa, Lang and Pressel? All leaders at some point in the last few days, all cried at one point or another during or just after the Open. They must all be finished too, no? So who is going to win all the tournaments? "Birdie" Kim?

The press are amazing. I have just read this mornings comments on Wie's failure. Writing Michelle off is a bit silly to say the least. What 15 year old wouldn't shed a tear or two including guys. There is no doubt Michelle will be a great player one day, failing at 15 at a Major, well is that really a surprise. Her biggest problem was that everyone was tipping her to win.
She will be back with a vengeance. This setback will do her a lot of good. This is character building.
Last week she beat 84 guys, in a couple of weeks time she will make history by becomming the first female to make the cut at a PGA event.

Alan

I think if you love to knock other professionals, you calling yourself a journalist, should at least know how to spell your subjects name.

Who is Jennifer Capariati? If she is the female tennis sensation, maybe you should learn how to spell her name. Jennifer Capriatti deserves better. Bob DeStefano

Just to set the record straight, it's Jennifer C-A-P-R-I-A-T-I. The journalist should have had it right. On July 11th, Michelle Wie will be in Ohio competing in the US Amateur Public Links Championship, the 'men's' event. Should she win, she SHOULD receive an invitation to The Masters. Sooner or later, she will have to win something, just to deliver on all the hype. But what she has accomplished thus far, before her 16th birthday, is incredible. Congrats to Michelle on fantastic showings at the McDonald's and the Open!

Apparently this joker knows as little about golf as he does soccer. I only pray he has no kids of his own.

Good grief, do you only write your blogs to criticize, attack and pontificate when players fail. I wonder what did you do or accomplish when you were 15, or for that matter, in your 20's?

Jennifer Capriati came from a different background than Michelle Wie. Besides comparison is odious, it's as if I compare you to some thugs who like to hit at people when they're down. It wouldn't be an accurate picture ...

Michele Wie is an exceptional golfer. Is she better than Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel or Arie Song?
No. She never has been. To mention her in the same sentence as Anika is to do women's golf a huge disservice. Will she become a great player on the LPGA Tour? Possibly. She certainly has the tools.
Will she be able to play on the PGA Tour or the Nationwide Tour? Never.

To understand Michele, you have to understand the women's game. It is dominated by power. The short courses, lack of rough and slower greens make players like Laurie Davies competitive. Females mature so much earlier than males that it is not unusual for a very young girl to be competing with the best women in whatever sport. Morgan Pressel made it to the Women's Open at 12. It is impossible for a boy to compete with a 30 year old man for any length of time. It is very possible that Michele is as good now as she will ever be. It happens all the time. Physically, she is fully grown.
I believe a 14 year old girl is at the same physical level as a 18-20 year old male.

If Michele makes the cut at the PubLinks, it will be a major story. You and I both know, they went looking for qualifing sites that were easy and suited for her game. To suggest that she can play with the best male amateurs in the country is ludicrous. At the Sony, she played as well as she can, on her own course and had 22 putts and did not make it.
Why is it that golf is the only sport where people think women can compete with men? When Anika played at Ft. Worth, she did not want to go back. And she is the best they have. By far. It is a different game, played on different courses. It is to no ones favor to let her go there. What happens if she shoots 80-80? What about her personally? Why isn't Paula Creamer or Morgan Pressel or other women who have proven to be better than Michele clamoring to go the men's tours? (Because they want no part of that action!) Why is Michele? Publicity, misguided expectations, you name it. The press is at fault for feeding it.

It is ok for her to shoot 80 in the final round yesterday. It is normal and expected and a integral part of her development. Would you like her to shoot 90 at Pinehurst a week earlier? What purpose would that serve.

Thank you

I agree that Wie has to toughen up mentally. However, who didn't cry at Cherry Hills? Pressel was balling during her 1st round. Ochoa's eyes were welling up after the final round. Kim cried tears of joy. I bet there are many more that broke down, but weren't captured on camera.

The U.S. Open is probably the most mentally fatiguing event in sports. I think all these girls deserve to shed a tear just for surviving.

I think your comparison with Jennifer Capriatti is flawed. Capriatti turned pro at age 13, largely pressured by her overbearing father Stefano. Michelle Wie is pursuing her own dreams as an amateur. Her family has been content to support her without steering her to turn pro and take the millions of dollars that would come with it. She remains remarkably well balanced despite all of the attention paid to her, and is not overextending herself to the extent that Capriatti did.

When all is said and done, this is not about what the media thinks. It's about a young girl following her dreams. I wish more of you would follow this story from that angle, and realize that success doesn't have to be measured by the number of trophies won.

Jeff asks if Michelle Wie is better than Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, or Aree Song. He answers "No. Never has been."

Let's look at the record this year in tournaments in which Wie played. At the SBS Wie finished tied for 2nd 10 storkes ahead of Creamer and 11 ahead of Aree Song. At Safeway Wie tied for 12th, 4 shots ahead of Creamer, while Aree Song missed the cut. At The Kraft Nabisco, Wie tied for 14th, 2 strokes ahead of both Creamer and Pressel, and 14 strokes ahead of Aree Song. At the McDonald's LPGA Wie was 2nd, again 2 shots ahead of Creamer and 14 ahead of Aree Song.

In the Women's Open Wie tied with Anaka for 23rd 7 strokes behind Pressel, 2 behind Creamer, and 3 ahead of Aree Song.

This year Michelle Wie is clearly better than Aree Song. Wie has beaten Creamer in 4 out of 5 tournaments, and she is 1 and 1 against Morgan Pressel in common tournaments--but that includes Pressel's tie for 2nd, while it does not include Wie's 2nd or her tie for 2nd. So while the jury may still be out, neither Creamer nor Pressel has proven to be beter than Wie.

As far as mentioning Wie in the same sentence with Anaka, as long as Anaka can do no better than tie a 15 year old, I think she will have to put up with being mentioned in the same sentence. Wie has certainly been a lot closer to Anaka this year than she has been to the struggling Aree Song.

Actually both Anaka and Michelle struggled at Cherry Hills for the same reason. They are both long hitters. But while thin air made everyones drives go further, the narrow fairways and thick rough punished errant shots so severely that the driver was taken out of both players' hands. Both players had to change their game for the Open--and that is not a good thing in a major tournament.

As far as that other long hitter Laura Davies is concerned--the average of her two rounds 84 and 81 was worse than Wie's final round 82. Laura missed the cut for only the second time in 12 tournaments this year--so Cherry Hills seems to have been pretty consistently bad for long hitters. But it is the fact that Wie is a long hitter that gives her a chance against men that otherj women would not have.

Is the PGA becomming a bunch of PUSSIES? Are they afraid they cannot win against other MALE competitors? They think they can win against the females. Why give a FEMALE AMATURE an exemption, when there are plenty of MALE AMATURES AND PROs who would better benefit from an exemption. Sorry, but WIE has played in enough "PROFESSIONAL" tournaments that she should no longer be considered an amature!

I agree with some of the comments that I have read, and disagree with some of the other ones. After all, everyone is entitled to their opinion. The thing that strikes me the most is the fact that everyone is talking about Michele Wie. That in itself speaks volumes. I wish her the best of luck in her golf career. Don't be so hard on her because she cried a little. She was upset because she didn't play well and was disappointed with herself. I have been very impressed with the way she has been handling the media. I just wish the rest of you would take the time and learn how to spell. By the way, Jim, I believe it is Annika, not Anaka. Are you that oblivious to the way someone's name is spelled? Especially someone as famous as the #1 female golfer in the world. I guess you weren't paying attention in school during English class. But, I guess that's expected when everyone relies on spellcheck.

Easy to critize Michelle Wei but she is an inspiration. She is also smart enough to be competing with the big boys because that's where the big bucks are. Did you realize that the purse for the #1 player @ the Memorial is larger that the combined offerings for most LPGA events including the US Woman's Open? Go for it Michelle and show a bit of your humanity and be 15.

Call me naive, but what if wrong with crying? This is what normal humans do from time to time when feeling grief.

Michelle is going to be one of golf's all-time greatest players, and maybe not only in the LPGA. She will only improve her game over the next few years, as she develops physically and mentally. I only hope that her fame and fortune does'nt prevent her from enjoying her teenage years. Good luck in your sophomore year at Punahou!!

Chris Baldwin, once again you are spitting out useless commentary from behind the relative safety of your pentium processor. Since you refuse to take some of your own advice in stopping the hype. I must assume that your having an episode of "writer's constipation". It seems as though your columnn is suffering from this disorder as it fights for somekind of validation. Opinion is one thing, but mindless comparisons and unsubstantiated innuendo about what the LPGA officials think is plain rubbish. Let's examine the facts. You in the media created the hype, all michelle did was play exceptional golf. Even if she doesn't do anything but finish in the top 10 of each tournament, she will be earning far more for her weak golf game, then you will for your misguided literary talents. In a few months she will sign endorsements totaling in the millions of dollars. While you will continue to slowly be pulled into the septic abyss of your commentary. Chris Baldwin...get happy....and shed the negativity...the empty pockets of the LPGA officials depend on it.

Hey baldin, buddy ol' pal


Koreannnnnnnnssssssssssss areeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
dominatinggggggggggggggggggggggg
GOLFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

andddddddddddddddddddddddd
thereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssss
nothinggggggggggggggggggggggg
youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
cannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
aboutttttttttttttttttttttttt
itttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt

How in the world does M. Wie think that she deserves to play in the men's tourneys when she hasn't won anything. I totally agree that she has exceptional talent but untils she starts to win some tournaments she needs to stay put and stay focused on the LPGA.