Michelle Wie ties Se Ri Pak. How historic! Oh wait ... that's right

Surprise, surprise, Balders gets the one single fact he quotes wrong. The Korean Open and Asian Open are completely different animals. It's like saying making the cut on the PGA tour is no more impressive than making it on the Nationwide tour.

Of course, any fool with a brain would know that... except Chris Baldwin, apparantly.

Oops, meant to say "Korean Tour" and "Asian Tour", but otherwise the comment stands.

A person with even 1% objectivity would recognize this as an achievement. Not an achievement like winning the Masters, but an achievement none-the-less.

But since this guy gets readers only because he insults Michelle Wie, and as insulting her is apparently his only raison d’être (how sad in itself--'What do you do in life, Mr. Baldwin,' 'Oh, I say nasty things about a 16-year old girl'), what else can one expect.

But, since if he relied on his wit and and writing skill alone (cough, cough), he'd have, oh say, one reader, he'll keep this up.

Actually Baldwin might be right this time. Although he totally got the Tour part wrong, he might be right about Wie getting more experience from winning Jr. tournaments. Look how it helped Pressel last week. At least MW would learn how to cry better. What a joker.

About eight hours later than I thought you'd be, but here you are. And you're right. But I'd expect the Wie Warriors have been waiting for you to poke your head out of your bunker. Prepare for the onslaught!

"Please. I haven't heard such utter bunk since John Daly tried to become a professional singer."


I can say the same thing about you pretending to be some sort of journalist. Ha.

The SK Telecom is a much higher regarded tournament than the domestic tournament that Se Ri Pak played in. KJ Choi was quoted as saying that the greens are slick as most of the ones he plays in the PGA tour. The SK Telecom is an international event and includes Jeev Milkha Singh a great talent from India; as well as other talents from other countries in Asia: Taiwan,Thailand, Australia, New Zealand. David Oh also made the cut; he is a Korean American from LA who is currently a nationwide tour member. Making the cut in this tournament is like making the cut in a Nationwide tour event; which is a good positive step for Michelle.

You are like the pimple-popping boy who says that girls are yucky, and then he just can't stop talking about them. If you really think that Wie making the cut in the SK Telecom Open is that trivial, why would you write paragraphs upon paragraphs about it?

Baldwin,
Get your facts straight next time you decide to post another one of your asinine articles. You are the most incompetent buffoon I've ever come across. After having read the body of your work, I honestly believe that you’re half-retarded.

First you criticize her for not playing with girls her own age. Now that she's doing well in a men's tournament you say it's because her competition is inferior?

Of course, the biggest joke--on both sides--is that Wie knows exactly how significant and how insignificant her acheivement was yesterday. It's a big deal for her because it finally proves she won't choke all her chances away, but it's not a big deal since I'm betting she would agree with Baldwin (to a point) in that with all her potential, nobody's going to be very impressed if this is as far as she gets.

It's clear that Baldwin won't be happy unless Wie wins the men's Grand Slam of golf three times in a row. But since Wie appears to be the only thing justifying his existence these days, that's no surprise.

"but it's not a big deal since I'm betting she would agree with Baldwin (to a point) in that with all her potential, nobody's going to be very impressed if this is as far as she gets." While no one will give her kudos for doing well this week, she is in line to make more for just appearing then the winner's check will be. $5 million for two weeks work is ok with me for a HS Jr. Good work if you can get it.

Tiger Woods himself said he could not conceive of making the cut in a men's pro tourney at 16. In fact, he never did make the cut until he turned pro, and it took him 7 tries.
Fact is, Wie is the best 16 year old golfer of any sex - ever.
Whether she becomes dominant like tiger when she gets older remains to be seen.
In the meantime, it is refreshing to see a pretty, likable, girlish teenybopper without a huge ego in the world of golf. She has a higher average women's major tourney finish than anyone with the possible exception of Annika.
Morgan Pressel is a jealous, inferior golfer, and an all-around bitch with not 1/4 the talent of Michelle.

Oh, I gotta do this. I just have to twist Baldwin up and all his little sycophants, lol.
Chris, baby, eat your little blood pump out, rofl...

Latest rankings from Golfworlds Women players rankings
Michelle Wie 68.11
Annika Sorenstam 68.13
Jeong Jang 69.33
Paula Creamer 69.46
Juli Inkster 69.48


Eat that, Baldy.

Comment from: Mike [Visitor]
---

Of course, any fool with a brain would know that... except Chris Baldwin, apparantly.
---

You are giving Chris credit for having an organ that isn't present in that cranium of his

Chris,
I thought you said you read the other blogs.

If you had perhaps, you would have read my comments.

The only thing similar about Se Ri Pak's and Michelle Wie's achievements is that they were both in Korea.

If you actually truly believe what you have written, then that means, if Michelle is to make a cut on The Nationwide Tour or even a lesser tour, it would be equal to making a pga cut. Is that what you honestly believe?

What Michelle Wie has done, hasn't been done by any female in the last 60 years.

She has made a cut on one of the 6 main professional tours.

Comment from: Mark [Visitor]
A person with even 1% objectivity would recognize this as an achievement. Not an achievement like winning the Masters, but an achievement none-the-less.

I agree. Put it in perspective. How many 16 year olds made the cut in that tournament? Let alone a 16 year old female.
But then, who ever said Baldy was objective!?!?!

"..this is an incredible, mystifyingly great day, a huge step forward in her marketing plan ... er, career". (Balwin's pathetic histronics) It seems the only one getting excessively worked up over this is you, Chris. Count your change from Google and thank the golf gods that Michelle Wie exists so that you have something to rant about you silly dork.

So - what did you do with that $10M you earned last year? I know you are all about golf - but look at the big picture.

Michelle is a great role model for women and children in general.

Give the kid a break. If she never achieved another thing in her life - she has done alot! She is a good student and a great golfer. Her parents are obviously raising her well - her charity and goodwill is commendable. When was the last time you donated $300,000 to a hospital?

When did you ever shot a 65? She did it quite often and more often now in very serious major tournaments that she played in or invited in. If she keeps getting better and more consistent like she's been doing for the last two years, it's just around the corner that she'll win her first tournament. But even then, the naysayers like you will always up the ante of her not winning a tournament like the Masters or British OPEN? Did you anything great when you were a teen?

Very interesting fact. Creamer is playing in lowly japanese women's tour this week. After 2nd round, her score is +4 and she is sitting 42nd 10stroles behind leader named Ohyama shiho. Just compare it to wie's score and position after 2nd round. Chris should have been frustrated because his gilr creamer's game has gone south recently.

Paula and Morgan are darn fine golfers. I have had occasion to wish that Morgan was a little more close mouthed but I believe she is learning that too.
When push comes to shove, Paula, Morgan, Michelle and a whole bunch of new players are making the LPGA fun to watch.
The only thing spoiing this picture is the petty jealousy of idiots like Baldwin and the Wiebashers.

Paula had little or no pressure last year as a rookie that has now turned into a ton of pressure this year to equal or better her previous results.

Paula will turn it around when she learns how to ignore the Demon on her shoulder.

Bombs away! That rumble you hear is the sound of the heads of Wie Warriors exploding. Michelle has made a cut! In the SK Telecom in Korea no less! And besides having One Hung Low and Who Flung Poo in the field, the immortal Ty Tryon was also there! What a field! And she is presently T17 among those golf cretins! Amazing! To paraphrase Muhammad Ali "she is the greatest!"

Hey Alex - "One Hung" and "Who Flung" will whip your sorry butt on the golf course any day of the week.

Baldwhine and Alexis sound like a couple of jealous gays when they write about Michelle.

Here are a few things Michelle will not have to worry about today:

Money: She is a fabulously wealthy sixteen year old who is at this moment the hottest endorser on the planet. Her appearance fees have just doubled.

A tee time: She can walk onto any course in the world and be invited to play a round.

Fame: There are about 5,000,000 hits on the web for her today and nearly 3,000 news stories published.

A one on one interview with Chrissy Baldwin: That will never happen as I know for a fact BJ reads the TravelGolf blogs.

Employing a lawyer like Alex: She can afford to go First Class now and doesn't have to settle for Second Rate.

Flying Coach: Private jets have no "Y" class on board.

A car payment: There will be a courtesy vehicle in in driveway very soon.

Joining the LPGA: She has nothing to gain when all she really wants to play at are their Major events.

ALEX...I FIND IT INTERESTING THAT YOU CLAIM YOU ARE A RACIST!! YOU PROBABLY DO NOT KNOW WHERE KOREA IS LOCATED. YOU ARE REALLY PATHETIC!!

You're an idiot, but I'm the bigger goof for clicking on your ridiculous story.

Who cares?

Why is everytime I google "Michelle Wie", Chris Baldwin turns up? I can't believe you're ranting about a 16-year-old teenager for a living. If your whole beef about Wie is "hype", why the heck do you keep writing about her? You just add to the volume of articles written about her.

Michelle Wie is an extraordinary talent that comes around once a decade. The last one is...Tiger Woods. She's 16. Tiger didn't make a cut or win a pro tournament at 16. Give her time. She'll prove all the naysayers wrong.

When Earl Woods - R.I.P. - prodicted great future for his son 10 years ago and everyone scoffed. Now Tiger, at 30, has lived up to almost all his father's prediction. Just wait for Michelle Wie gets her game together. It seems she gets her putter down this week.

Jas, Baldie knows he can get more readers from one Wie bashing session than he has gotton for *all* of his non-Wie posts put together... Just look back at the number of comments he gets for both types of post. You will see what I mean. Without Wie, Chris would have no readers here.

I believe you should have stated "as impressive as Chris Baldwin had made the cut in an Asian Tour at 16." OOPS! I forgot to check the facts, should have known that you didn't! In fact, Googling your name produced no achievement even remotely close to what Wie has accomplished. Sour grapes? Certainly your articles on Wie have had none of a journalist's objectivity.

The comment by Alex smells like the rantings of a racist.

LOL!

chris you really are pathetic. Leave michelle alone! She is one of the best things that has ever happened to golf! she brings in so much viewership/interest/people tuning in wherever she plays and she really is transcending the sport. Give her SOME credit at least you big oaf!

It seems as if you have nothing good to say about her. I haven't even seen you comment on how great of a player she is. You really are pathetic...and I DOUBT that BJ reads chris' blog, but if he did, he'd probably laughing his ass off with michelle as they ride to the bank to cash in another million.

It's scary how clever you are CB.

It's difficult to tell if you think MW is a great golfer. It surely is easy to tell that you cannot contain yourself when you hear "positive MW comments from MW fans."

Your "negative spins" are really "awesome--as MW might say." Your comments on the "winless wonder" are also "like awesome" but aren't you the least bit concerned about balanced journalism. Oh, wait, as an OP-Ed, you have the right to voice your opinions.

Kimo

Let's not be too harsh on Baldie, Alex and the rest. They have been serving well for Wie's publicity and togetherness of Wie supporters.

They need to have their allies such as george and John D back in order to fight back the onslaught from Wie supporters because they are loosing their grounds as Wie improves on her golf and gets closer to her goal.

I think it is high time we showed our mercy on them as the battle is tipping toward our favor.

Comment from: Patrick [Visitor]
LOL!

chris you really are pathetic. Leave michelle alone! She is one of the best things that has ever happened to golf! she brings in so much viewership/interest/people tuning in wherever she plays and she really is transcending the sport. Give her SOME credit at least you big oaf!

It seems as if you have nothing good to say about her. I haven't even seen you comment on how great of a player she is. You really are pathetic...and I DOUBT that BJ reads chris' blog, but if he did, he'd probably laughing his ass off with michelle as they ride to the bank to cash in another million.

Patrick make that $6,000,000 plus in new endorsements from her week long stay in Korea. She is approaching the $20,000,000 mark in winnings, appearance fees and endorsements since turning Pro last October. Cha CHINGGGGGGG!

By making a cut in a men's tournament Michelle might hit $40,000,000 by September 30th. Toss in a US PGA cut and an LPGA win she could top $100,000,000 before her first year is over as a Pro Golfer. Michelle's Dreams are as big as her bank account.

One-Putt, was that post a joke? She hasn't earned nearly as much as you claim - and as far as tournament winnings go, she may have just reached the $1M barrier since turning pro.

Oh, and her appearance fees are not only unjustified, they are downright cheeky and show how selfish Michelle Wie can be.

"Comment from: David [Visitor]
One-Putt, was that post a joke? She hasn't earned nearly as much as you claim - and as far as tournament winnings go, she may have just reached the $1M barrier since turning pro.

Oh, and her appearance fees are not only unjustified, they are downright cheeky and show how selfish Michelle Wie can be."

Do the math Genius:

Sony and Nike Contracts $10,500,000
Omega Contract $2,000,000
Contracts signed in Korea this week (construction company, clothing manufacturer and assorted others) $6,000,000
Casio Appearance fee $1,500,000
SK Open Appearance fee $750,000
Other professional appearance fees $1,500,000
LPGA earnings $182,800

Gifts to charities $800,000

She has already hit $20,000,000 and given away more to charity than you may earn in 20 years Davy.

Event sponsors pay appearance fees to have known golfers show up to their event. The sponsor hopes to recoup some revenue they lay out fo an event by increasing the gate and TV air time.

Michelle delivers on both counts. Attendance at the SK was up over 100 percent from last year. SK Telecom made their money back in the first two days. MBC-ESPN broadcast the live event to 52 countries around the world. Last year the SK was only broadcast in Korea. Michelle is a bargain at &1,500,000.

David, What you say may be true. Miss Wie may be a tad overpaid as well as a lot overrated, but maybe her true talent, that of public speaking, is now coming to the fore. Upon finishing her never-to-be-forgotten masterpiece, she produced this gem for the microphones: "It's just wonderful. Great. I feel really, really happy." Bubbles, you've made One-Putt proud! Forget golf and hit the speakers' circuit!

***David said:
One-Putt, was that post a joke? She hasn't earned nearly as much as you claim - and as far as tournament winnings go, she may have just reached the $1M barrier since turning pro.

Oh, and her appearance fees are not only unjustified, they are downright cheeky and show how selfish Michelle Wie can be.
***********

David...what in the world are you talking about? Are you mentally retarded? How can you say that Michelle Wie is selfish just because she gets paid well? FYI, she has donated $800,000.00US so far. How does this make her selfish? How can you make a connection between michelle's earning and her emotional stability/temperment/personality?

David...your stupid. stfu now thanks

***David said:
One-Putt, was that post a joke? She hasn't earned nearly as much as you claim - and as far as tournament winnings go, she may have just reached the $1M barrier since turning pro.

Oh, and her appearance fees are not only unjustified, they are downright cheeky and show how selfish Michelle Wie can be.
***********

David...what in the world are you talking about? Are you mentally retarded? How can you say that Michelle Wie is selfish just because she gets paid well? FYI, she has donated $800,000.00US so far. How does this make her selfish? How can you make a connection between michelle's earning and her emotional stability/temperment/personality?

David...your stupid. stfu now thanks

James, Your reply was brilliant, typical of a teenage admirer of Bubbles. You've actually spelled several of the six words correctly. Your punctuation needs work. A lot of work.

She has just read your last post Chris ! I got the picture !

http://www.pbase.com/image/59743436

Write your opinion on her and on all the great media show around her, Chris, try to change the world if you think it's possible, but don't forget humour...
With humour, you should be better, (or not so worse...)
Never forget humour Chris, and in some comments, fans, never forget it too... Golf is juste a game...

Hey Chris,

Ms. Creamer is having another great tournament... what happen to her game....how about Morgan the mouth pressel she hasn't said anything bout wie since her game when downhill.

Alex said
David, What you say may be true. Miss Wie may be a tad overpaid as well as a lot overrated, but maybe her true talent, that of public speaking, is now coming to the fore. Upon finishing her never-to-be-forgotten masterpiece, she produced this gem for the microphones: "It's just wonderful. Great. I feel really, really happy." Bubbles, you've made One-Putt proud! Forget golf and hit the speakers' circuit!
****************************************

What exactly was wrong with what she said?
And by the way, she went on to say that the tournament is not over and she has alot of work to do.

Your problem, Chrissy Baldwin, is that you never come up with any credible arguments as to why Michelle Wie is NOT deserving of the attention she is getting. All you do is harp on the fact that she has not won any of the limited pro events she has entered. That's like saying LeBron James sucks because he hasn't won a world championship yet. Do you know of any other 16 year old girl accomplishing her feats? I know of one middle aged flabby white bald third rate journalist who can't even come close to matching what she has done. Take your Midol and shut up.

Wait, this is the part where Chris Baldwin writes something about Michelle Wie to get comments because only god knows how many comments he gets writing about other things...

We shouldn't be as easily fooled by this man by giving him a comment...

wait a minute...

Here he goes again. Baldy's getting usual his kicks beating up on a 16 year old girl. I look forward to seeing his pathetic comments on her next achievement.

And yeah, Baldy, it's clear that you're a racist. If Michelle was blonde and blue-eyed like your wet dream Paula Creamer, then you'd be damned happy for her.

Apparently, there are some Korean version of Chris Baldwin.

I read a news that some Koreans argued that Wie's making cut at SK was no big deal because the course was not "Man" enough. (ie, not so long and tough to separate a boy from men, er, girl from men)

Here are Michelle's stats from the SK Open so far:

1st Round:

GIR% 72.22, Putting (GIR) 1.69, Total Putting 28, Putting average 1.56

2nd Round:

GIR% 72.22, Putting (GIR) 1.69, Total Putting 28, Putting average 1.56

I would call that consistency of play by any standard. If Michelle can carry these numbers over to the LPGA she will win and win a bunch of times. Frankly if she had these numbers for putting in the Fields and Kraft she would have run away from the field in both events. She was number one in GIR for both the Kraft and Fields averaging 77%.

What's wrong with a 16-year-old speaking like a... 16-year-old? What do we expect? A 16-year-old speaking like a middle-aged English scholar? Part of the charm of Michelle Wie is that she acts and speaks her age, despite her otherworldly talent and way-over-her-age achievements. Her sponsors signed her because she can attract an audience much younger than the normal golf audience. That is the main part of her marketability.

Alex said "James, Your reply was brilliant, typical of a teenage admirer of Bubbles. You've actually spelled several of the six words correctly. Your punctuation needs work. A lot of work".

Well, what can I say? Here you go again trying to be an English teacher. I was thinking maybe, in order to make this debate more interesting, Wie should play poorly on purpose this Sunday at the SK Sky course.

Check this out: an article by Rishi Narain, a former Asian Games gold medallist.

Wie-ing for equal honours

Getting back to the title of this article, why doesn't Baldhead write another entitled, "Barry Bonds ties Babe Ruth. How historic! Oh wait ... that's right" After all another black male already did that... Funny how Asians are still fair game in our PC world.

Alex, you must agree with me on one part, that David's logic is very out there. How can you make a correlation to michelle's earnings and her personality? HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HER! How can he say that Michelle is a spoiled brat? He doesn't have any basis whatsoever...

Now if he said Morgan Pressel was a spoiled brat...that could be considered a valid statement.

And Alex, you can STFU now too. thanks

Here is a Michelle's picture for you to admire

Comment from: Brian [Visitor] · http://eng.koreapga.com/Tour/hot_01.asp?OPEN_YEAR=2006&TOUR_DIV=11&TOMT_CLSS=0005&TOMT_TIME=00
Alex said "James, Your reply was brilliant, typical of a teenage admirer of Bubbles. You've actually spelled several of the six words correctly. Your punctuation needs work. A lot of work".

Well, what can I say? Here you go again trying to be an English teacher. I was thinking maybe, in order to make this debate more interesting, Wie should play poorly on purpose this Sunday at the SK Sky course.

Don't let Alex or Baldwin get to you Brian. If they had brains, they would take them out and play with them.

I actually agree with Chris; it is about as remarkable as his passing his driving test, but only because both events are pretty miraculous.

Norman, There is nothing wrong with the flowery orations of Bubbles, and I don't know where you may have gotten the idea that I thought that there were. I apologize for not including the rest of her text about the tournament not being over and her desire to play well. Later she also said again that she wanted to play her best, but if she didn't win, it would be okay. Such brilliant repartee deserves mention.

Alex, what Wie said sounds very like what Tiger Woods would have said. Where is your problem? It was pretty standard golf pro golf talk.

And the legacy continues - WinLESS Wie

Chris, Today, May 7,2006 will be remembered as the greatest day in the history of Golf, if not all of Sport. For on this memorable day, Michelle Wie, aka Bubbles, won her first tournament in a men's event. Her victory came in the prestigious and venerable SK Telecom in that cradle of Golf, Incheon, Korea. In all the long, nine-year history of this premium event, she is the first golfer with dangling six-inch earrings to claim the winner's trophy. In actuality, her victory didn't come in the main tournament , but in the fierce battle she had with Korean amateur sensations Kang Sung Hun and Kim Kyung Tae for a 35th place tie. While Kang and Kim are virtually unknown in golfing circles, they are household names in their hometowns in Korea. Despite the acknowledged fact that Bubbles game is more affected by adverse conditions than those of her rivals, she proved once and for all that she can "close the deal" by scoring a masterful 74 to hold safe the "K" boys by a single stroke. Officially, she did finish T35, 12 strokes behind the winner of the side tournament, but the real good news for her adoring fans was how she was able to improve with each round: five strokes behind after the first round, to six behind T17 after the second, to twelve behind T35 after three. Sadly the event was shortened to 54 holes or by her progression Bubbles would surely have been in the top five. But still, her win in her homeland will be buttress to her fans' claims that she will be a force in the upcoming US Open. And as far as money goes, Bubbles' reported appearance fee of $700K far exceeded the total prize money of the event. Not to go unnoticed should be the fact that Miss Wie also earned over eight hundred thousand for her one-stroke victory over the upstart Korean amateurs. (Uh, boss, that was 800K Korean Won)

Johnny N, You're getting more like Norman every day. Wherever did you get the notion that I am criticizing the speechmaking of Miss Wie? I give nothing but praise to the refreshing "way with words" that Bubbles demonstrates, I practically show reverence for her grandiloquence and I am accused of being sarcastic. I am just a recent convert to Wie cultism, so you'll have to bear with me until I develop the proper vernacular. I just hope I'm not too late and that membership to the "Bubbles Brown-nosers" club hasn't been closed.

Alex, you are just too dumb to realize that you are as stupid as you sound, which is quite an achievement.

putt4par, What a brilliant rejoinder! Now, why couldn't I have thought of something like that? I'm sorry that you're in such a surly mood today. I really thought that you'd be in a jovial frame of mind since Bubbles just got her first win in a major men's tour event.

No, no... it was my one shot for the day at being grumpy

Alex,
It is nice to know that you are under the impression that Ms. Wie won the golf tournament.

For those of us who know something about golf, we know that, making a cut on a major tour and finishing in 35th place is indeed a great achievement for a 16 year old girl.

- Also, being the first female to win money on a major mens golf tour is another achievement.

- And, being the first female to qualify for and play a final round in a mens professional achievement on a mens tour is another achievement.

So many achievements in just one weekend.
Indeed Wie fans can be very proud.

Norman, That is what I said.

CHRIS...CHRIS...CHRIS!
I GUESS YOU SIMPLY FORGOT THAT YOU NEVER PASSED YOUR DRIVER TRAINING COURSE WHEN YOU WERE 16. Like Forest Gump used to say "stupid is as stupid does."

Since nearly everyone posting here thinks that Miss Wie's most recent performance at the SK Telecom was a great achievement, what is the consensus on the three AMATEURS that went lower than Michelle in the tournament? Remember, 16 years old or not, she is a professional; has been since last October.

You are funny. I would bet that you were leading the charge against Tiger Woods from 93-late 96. Once the dust settles, Wie will be as significant as Tiger. No doubt.

Since 2003, Wie has played in nine LPGA majors (not just any little ol' tournament--and 2003 means she was 13 freakin years old!) and Creamer in eight. Wie has four top five finishes while Creamer has one. In those majors, Wie finsihed ahead of Creamer six times and even with her once. So much for Creamer domination!! If Creamer is good (which she is) then my goodness Wie is amazing. Isn't performance in majors the true yeard stick of excellence? Or are you ging to continue to change metrics as long as Wie is not winner back-to-back-toback grand slams on the PGA Tour??

Wie also made it to the quarter-finals of the US MEN's Public Links...at 15 years old (something Tiger himself did not accomplish).

3/4 last rounds at the John Deere Classic were at or udner par, inluding a 68 in 2005--rounds played when she was 15 and 16. Ridiculous.

She also broke 70 at the Sony Open at 15 years old. She is FAR superior to Tiger at the same age (memory check: Tiger never played really well in PGA events until turning pro...ave one round at the British Open). Note: when she missed the cut at the Sony by one stroke, she finished ahead of a number of top players, including Adam Scott.

And specific to your latest male posting, Se Ri Pak finished in the top 10 against a minor league pro event, about five notches below the nationwide tour.

Dude, give her the props she deserves 100 times over. She is a prodigy...a wunderkind. She will do better the better the courses. And the for the same reason why Tiger does not play well on courses that can get lit up, Wie will play better the harder the course (as opposed to the easy set ups of LPGA events).

As for Creamer...she will be a great LPGA player. As for Wie, she will transform the sport.

Amateur men have a great history in men's open golf, that's why it's called the "SK Telecom Open". So it's not historic. But it is consistent: Wie was tied for 35th of 78 players who made the cut, making the top half of the cut. Three amateurs beat her score, she beat three others who made the cut. I can only presume there were a similar fraction of amateurs among the 106 players she beat in total.

I agree that MW has done excetionally well for a 16 year old. She does tend to choke sometimes when the real pressure is on. The real test for her will be how she does when she is on the tour full-time. We will see how she does then. Time will tell.

Pk, That is all very nice and complimentary of Miss Wie; I'm fully aware that you one of many who believe she will be the greatest ever and that she is on the verge of immortality right now. But my question of you is still this: What is your opinion of the three Asian amateurs who defeated Michelle Wie? Do you think that they have similar capabilities?

• Capabilities: based on the one data point of this tournament, I'd say yes.
• Potential: if any of them were 16 and I had no other data to go on I'd believe they had similar potential.
• Significance: if any of them were a 16 year old girl I'd believe it would have similar significance.

So yes, Wie and the three amateur men who made the cut all seem to have the capability to compete with men at a similar level. What's your point?

Greg, thank you for your objectivity. That is, all except the part about MW being a 16 year old girl. My point? To get the opinions of some of the real Wie worshipers as to their take on those amateurs who scored better than Michelle. As you will see, most of the Wie fanatics will not share your cautious optimism or your high opinion of Michelle's conquerers

Alex said:
But my question of you is still this: What is your opinion of the three Asian amateurs who defeated Michelle Wie?
*******************************

Alex,
First of all I am delighted that you recognise that those amateurs beat Michelle Wie in this tournament.
There are many in the anti-Wie brigade that claim, that when Michelle Wie finishes ahead of Creamer in nearly every event, that she hasn't actually beat her, because she didn't win the event.

I am glad that you recognise that Michelle Wie beats Paula Creamer nearly every time, just as those 3 amateurs beat Michelle Wie at the SK Telecom Open.

Now for my opinion on those 3 amateurs:
I think they did very well in this tournament. I don't know any more about their careers other than that. So while I commend them for doing well on this tournament, I don't know if they have the overall success and potential of Michelle Wie.

While their performance in this tournament is commendable, I would ask if they produce as often as Michelle Wie does.
Michelle Wie is a 16 year old girl, yet she has done enough to be a clear world number 2 player:

1 Annika Sorenstam 17.78
2 Michelle Wie 11.35
3 Paula Creamer 8.29
4 Lorena Ochoa 7.85

This was further emphaisised in how well she played in both the first 2 events of the season, where she was just 1 shot from a playoff on each occasion.

Paula Creamer meanwhile, in 7 starts has a best finish of 4th position.

That is the difference in Michelle Wie. She delivers good performances consistantly.

On the mens side she has already achieved alot, particularly in getting to the quarter final of a mens usga event at 15 years of age. The best Tiger could do when he was 17 years old was get to the last 32 of the mens competition.

Also her near misses at The John Deere and The Casio were great learning experiences, where she played some great golf but ultimately just came up short on those occasions. She used the experience she gained there, and I believe that experience helped her to do so well at the SK Telecom Open.

With this added confidence, I would give her a good chance of qualifying from Local Qualifying for the US Open and getting to the Sectional stage.
At Sectional I give her barely any chance, because I can tell you it is extremely difficult there.

In any case, her career has been going onwards and upwards and I expect it to continue this way. I do feel sorry for you and Chris Baldwin as you have to keep coming up with excuses, as to why this field wasn't good enough. My guess is that you both will soon be insulting the quality of pga fields.

Alex/Chris,

What would it take for you to stop ragging on Wie? Winning on the LPGA? Winning a major on the LPGA? Winning the women's Grand Slam? Winning the men's Grand Slam? Winning the men's Grand Slam while single-handedly solving world hunger? What? I'm curious. You seem to know that Wie is and always will be an underachiever. Put your money where your mouth is and tell us. Give us a timeline of what *you* think should be Wie's progress. If she win's an LPGA event this year and/or makes the cut in a PGA tour event? Is that enough?

Comment from: MikeW [Visitor]
Alex/Chris,

What would it take for you to stop ragging on Wie? Winning on the LPGA? Winning a major on the LPGA? Winning the women's Grand Slam? Winning the men's Grand Slam? Winning the men's Grand Slam while single-handedly solving world hunger? What? I'm curious. You seem to know that Wie is and always will be an underachiever. Put your money where your mouth is and tell us. Give us a timeline of what *you* think should be Wie's progress. If she win's an LPGA event this year and/or makes the cut in a PGA tour event? Is that enough?
****
MikeW, I can tell you right now that neither nutcase A ( Chris Baldwin or nutcase B (Alex anonymous) will back off. There will always be something wrong. Heaven forbid that either one of the admit they could possibly be wrong.
Oh Alex will make wie bleating noises ( spelling of wee/wie intentional) and Baldwin will write another ugly little dispatch and then sit back trying to think up more idiocy.

They are so hidebound that even if MW acheived all the possibilties you mentioned, they'd still find something to whine about.

please leave my baldie alone. he has to feed his children and wife !!!!
he is kinda cute thou.... as cute as a roach.

At the SK Telecom, six amateurs were entered. ALL of them made the cut. Three of them scored better than the 16 year old phenom while two others were within one stroke. I'm not positive of this but I believe that one of the amateurs that finished higher than Miss Wie was a 14 year old boy. A field which includes six amateurs and Ty Tryon can't be considered anything but mediocre at best. Perhaps this is what Dottie Pepper was referring to when she commented on the relative weakness of the SK field. As Norman says, virtually nothing is known of these golfers, pro or amateur. Guys, you're losing debating points by engaging in personal attacks and insults. You guys are hopelessly enamored of Miss Wie, to your mindset she can do no wrong. I like her a lot, also. However, I'm reasonably certain that she will never finish in the top 25 of a PGA event even if she does make a cut in a marginal event. And I would bet the farm if I had one that she will never win a PGA event, regardles of how weak the field. In other words, I would like her a lot more if she had followed a more conventional route to fame and fortune. But that's just me. There you have it, fellows. My opinion. Notice, no name-calling, no questioning of anyone's mental acuity or sexual orientation, nothing which could be construed as offensive. Try it some time.

Alex says--

"There you have it, fellows. My opinion. Notice, no name-calling, no questioning of anyone's mental acuity or sexual orientation, nothing which could be construed as offensive. Try it some time."

Kind of tough to take you seriously when you engage in all those things.

You and Baldwin are delusional as always--maybe the psych nurse strapped the football helmets on you guys too tight.

Alex,
Perhaps before suggesting one of these amateurs might be a 14 year old boy, perhaps you could get us some proof.

By the way, Paula Creamer has stated that she also wants to take on the men.

I wonder what Baldie's opinion would be on Ms. Paula Creamer competing in mens events.

However, she said she wants to detrone Annika first.
How long will that take?

Alex, here's a report saying that the youngest male to make the cut on the Asian tour was 14 years old at the time. His name is Hu Mu and he did it twice in 2004:

http://www.asiantour.com/story.htm?storyID=ff8080810a11f4ff010a27214d910025

Hu is now one of the top teenagers in the game.

You will notice that my questions about measuring Wie's success were presented without abusive language, but I'm not sure your last reply was in answer to those questions. So I ask again, what would it take for you to turn around and accept that Wie's career is on the right track?

Among 6 amateurs who made cut, 5 of them are members of korean national team and one is member of Australian national team. We aren't talking about some local high school boys. Lee Won Joon is reportedly #1 amateur in Australia (though I didn't check it myself) and this guy hits crazy long. He is in JB holmes league.

3 amateurs finished behind wie. Kang Sung Hoon is former APL semi final list who lost to eventual winner Ryan Moore. He was also medalist at last year's Australian amateur. Kim Kyung Tae is last year's Japanese amateur chanpion and was last year's korean amateur POY.

BTW there was no 14 year old boy in the field.

About strength of field thing. Edward Loar is winner of 2004 korean open and 3rd place finisher was Ernie Els. Loar made cut on number last week. Choi Gwang Soo is winner of last year's korean open. Ted purdy and Mike weir were among players who finished behind him.He missed cut last week.
Jarrod Lyle and Gavin Flint are both ranked within top 15 in Australina tour order of merit. Both misssed cut last week.

MikeW, In answer to your question, "What would it take to accept that Miss Wie's career is on the right track?", my answer is this: A win on any tour anywhere would be a good start. I know, I know, she is only 16 years old, but in October she will be 17 years old, and so on, Remember, according to you fellows, we're not talking about just any 16 year old. This the almighty Michelle, greater than Woods at this age, the savior of Women's golf, the last word in all that's good on the planet, etc. The only thing she can't do yet is leap tall buildings in a single bound. Come on, guys, your fawning adulation of this teenybopper is way over the top. You're trying to portray her T35 placing at a mediocre Asian event as a monumental triumph. And quoting chapter and verse from the promotional manual of the SK Telecom as to the strength of the field is absolutely laughable.

Well done Jay Z on finding out some info on the players, instead of just bluffing like some other people.

Alex, on the winning thing, a win this year or next on the lpga means she has made history as the youngest ever winner there. By the way, a win this year is very likely given how close she has come in the 2 events she has played, and given that she played so well coming down the stretch in both of those events.

Her 35th placing was monumental in the sense that it hasn't been done by a woman in the last 60 years.

If you don't think that when someone achieves something in golf that hasn't been done by another female is 60 years isn't monumental, then that's your problem.

ALEX--What would it take for you to accept that Michelle Wie's career is on the right track? The question does not aks whether you you think she is the greatest ever or even a potential LPGA Hall of Famer. It only asks what it would take for you to accept that her career is on the right track. If you think Norman and I have unrealistic views about how good Michelle Wie is--that only concerns what we and what people like us think.

I can only think of two reasons for not acknowledging that her career is on the right track.

1) She has not accomplished very much for a 16 year old girl who has been a pro for less than a year. In this context I believe there is a California girl a few weeks younger than Michelle who may have also turned pro. And,f course, we can also look at the pro career of 17 year old Pressel.

2) She has not accomplished much given what you believe her potential to be, or in some other way follwed a path that may limit her achievements in the future. Simply not living up to what you believe to be the unrealistic expectations of others is not a reason to question her career path.

jay z - Thank you very much for the information on the amateurs in the SK Telecom Open.

I tried to look them up, but was frustrated by the variability of the way asiatic names are phoeneticized into english. The only one I was reasonably sure I found was Lee Won Joon (also listed as Lee Won-Jun, Lee Wonjun, Won Jun Lee, Won Joon Lee, Won-ju Lee and Won-jun Lee). And I suspect I totally missed everything that used the Chinese pronunciation of the Korean characters of his name. If Google can find a way to reliably search for these names, they will make another 10 billion!

As I suspected, these are true amateur golfers in the spirit of Bobby Jones, and were quite likely superior to many of the professionals in the field. Amateur does not mean inferior, it only means unpaid. In Asia and Australia,unlike America and Europe, the current purses are not large enough to tempt someone who is making a good living in a business or a profession to chuck their day job and go professional. By remaining amateur, they increase their opportunity to play on reasonably local courses, and still get to golf just for the love of the game.

Man, you guys have got it bad. Somebody must have spiked that last batch of Koolaid with either absinthe or LSD.

Actually Alex's reply to my question was reasonable, though you have to remember that she is only competing (as per LPGA rules) in a limited number of events. If her game slumps at the wrong time (as any golfer's can) then she has less room for error than the other pros. She may be a pro, but she's not a full-timer yet by any stretch of the imagination.

I give Wie about a 50% chance of winner on the LPGA this year. That's high, given that she's not yet dominating like Tiger, but she is consistently good which means she's always in with a chance. Winning against a field of 100+ players is never easy.

I would like to ask Alex what it would take for Wie to be accepted as a legitimate competitor on the PGA tour? In some ways, it's going to be tougher for Wie to "succeed" than your average PGA pro. As an PGA player, if you make most of the cuts in a season, you are probably going to win enough money to keep your card for next season, even if you don't ever make it into the top ten of an event. If all Wie does is make cuts, she's going to be regarded as a failure on the PGA tour--the expectations are too high and her novelty value will wear off quickly. So my measure for Wie's success on the PGA tour would be for her to make a top ten finish. If she does that even once, the whole golfing world would sit up and take notice. After that, who knows?

Can she do it? To be honest, I don't know, but I believe that Wie thinks she can, and that's what makes her interesting to watch.

(BTW: I do appreciate Alex's willingness to engage in this debate. After all, all Mr Baldwin does is sit on the sidelines, sniping at Wie.)

MikeW, For Miss Wie or any other professional golfer to be accepted as a legitimate competitor on the PGA tour, she would first have to compete on that tour on a relatively steady basis. There are a variety of ways for a player to obtain and secure a PGA tour card, but I'm afraid that it will be virtually impossible for Miss Wie to avail herself of any of them. There is a limit of seven sponsors' exemptions allowed on the PGA tour. Even if she were to garner those seven, which is highly unlikely, the odds against her winning enough to be in the top 125 at year's end are astronomical. With all due respect, the John Deere and the 84 Lumber, while they are in quality venues and are bona fide PGA events, are what realists would call Grade II tournaments since they coincide with other more prestigious events which siphon off the top echelon players. Still, while she may have an outside chance to make a cut in either event, the probability of Miss Wie finishing in the top ten even in these events is about a googal to 1.It's commendable that Michelle thinks she can do it. But unlike the words of that old song, wishing won't make it so. And this has nothing to do with her golfing ability, her intellect, or her entourage and publicity machine. The PGA tour is quite simply several cuts above the level of play of Michelle Wie and all the other female golfers on this planet as well as that of all but about one half of one percent of the male players.

Michelle Wie only competes in a few LPGA events per year. Would you also say that Wie does not compete in enough LPGA events to be considered competitive on the LPGA? Suppose Wie were to compete in only 4 LPGA Majors and win them all. I guess that would be too few events for her to be considered competitive. Was Bobby Jones competitive on the PGA when he won the Grand Slam in 1930? As an amateur I am sure he played in very few PGA events.

What if Michelle Wie wins enough money in 20 or so events over 3 or 4 years to retain a card if the events had all been in the same year? It seems to me that being competitive on the PGA over the course of 20 nor so events should not be dependent upon all the events being in the same yaer.

Why is there so much talk about Michelle qualifying to the pga tour by the 7 exemption route.

She will probably try for q school over the next while. While it isn't easy to get into the field for q-school, if she can get there, then she has a decent change of getting her card.

How difficult is q-school. Actually it would not be much more difficult than the SK Telecom open.
Remember q-school is made of of people who are not pga card holders, and who lost their cards the previous year.
No doubt Alex will jump in and do his usual claptrap about the guys at q-school all hitting the ball 350 yards and all that nonsense.

Michelle isn't ready for q-school yet in my opinion, but she should certainly be ready to give it a very good go by the time she is 20. If she could qualify in about 3-4 years from that, she would be one of the younger members on the pga tour. Once there, I think she could easily make enough money to retain her card, as she would be allowed to play quite a few events.

Alex, I'll take those odds. Here's my one cent. You'd better have that trillion dollars ready when I come calling (you can keep the rest) :-)

In all seriousness, you're right that the odds Wie will qualify for the PGA tour via exemptions are astronomical (at least unless and until she starts placing top 25 in PGA events). However, the prize money for those Grade II events is not really that much lower. *Any* win on the PGA tour, any two second places, or any three thirds, would get you close to being in the top 125 money earners for the whole year.

Q-school would seem to be her best bet. At least she would know quickly where she stands - PGA tour, Nationwide tour, or nowhere. Somehow I doubt she would play the Nationwide full time if she qualified.

In any case, we'll get a good read on where she is right now next week at the local US Open qualifier. I believe there are 41 in her field, with the top three going through to the sectionals. She finished 6th last year, just two places out, so she's in with a good chance of moving on this year. I'm not expecting her to get through the sectionals though.

I have to agree that Michelle will most likely try the Q-School route in her Senior year at Stanford (age 21). She will continue to use the seven PGA sponsor's exemptions to gain experience and in an effort to see if she bring her game up to a level where she can honestly compete on the men's tour.

The difficult decision for Michelle will be whether or not she will hold an LPGA card in the meantime. By signing onto the LPGA tour she would be restricting her ability to play in men's events and potentially lose millions in appearance fees. This ain't gonna happen and the LPGA brass know it already.

Why do you think Dottie, Nancy and Beth keep talking about following the traditional path? They know what Michelle could bring to the LPGA tour as a fulltime player. Michelle could do for the LPGA what Tiger did for the PGA, increase attendance, viewership, sponsorship, prize money and bring new female players into the game. It may look like they are against Michelle, but it is really an effort to gather her into the fold.

To tell you the truth there appears to be only five events Michelle seems interested in playing on the LPGA tour: The four Majors and the Evian Masters. If she were to win any of the Major events she would gain a five year exemption from qualifying for that particular event (as a non-LPGA member). Win all four and she is set to pursue her dream fulltime to get her card on the PGA tour.

The one thing everyone can agree on in these forums is that Michelle has never followed the traditional route when it comes to the game of golf.

Jim C, Miss Wie IS competitive right now on the LPGA tour. She has proven that by her several high finishes on that circuit although she has yet to win one. As to the rest of the "if's" in your reply, all I can say is that "if" I were tall, dark and handsome, and "if" I had any acting ability, and "if" I had a good agent, I would have been the new Clark Gable.

Johnny N, That's quite an equation you drew, a T35 finish at the SK Telecom being as easy to come by as a top 24 at the "Q" school. You surely can't be serious about such a statement. If you are serious, I'll just have to chalk it up to a lack of knowledge on your part as to the relative strengths of the two tournaments. Many of the entrants in the "Q" school are PGA tour players who have exhausted their various exemptions or who came close but failed to finish in the top 125 on the money list. Several pros who have won PGA tour events have had to return to "Q" school. With all due respect for the skills and determination of the pros on the various Asian, Japan, Korean. Austalian, and Sunshine tours,no similar quality or depth exist on those tours.

"Comment from: Alex [Visitor] · http://Alex
Jim C, Miss Wie IS competitive right now on the LPGA tour. She has proven that by her several high finishes on that circuit although she has yet to win one. As to the rest of the "if's" in your reply, all I can say is that "if" I were tall, dark and handsome, and "if" I had any acting ability, and "if" I had a good agent, I would have been the new Clark Gable."

Alex can we safely assume you are short, white and ugly? Don't underestimate your acting ability Alex, your performances here can be quite bad at times and others are not so bad. Hey Alex if Kevin Costner and Alec Baldwin can make it as actors, there is hope for us all. Go ahead Alex send your acting portfolio to William Morris.

Alex,
I wasn't equating t35 to 24th at q school.
If you check back, you should notice, that what was typed was,
"How difficult is q-school. Actually it would not be much more difficult than the SK Telecom open".

The q-school tournament isn't much more difficult. It wouldn't be much harder to get 24th at q-school than it would 24th at the SK Telecom Open.

I respect the players, tournament winners amongst them, who have lost their tour cards and compete at q school.

However, you should remember that they have lost their cards.
That means in the event they have played they haven't played well enough to get in the top 125. So they certainly arn't likely to be at pga winning form, if they are back in q-school.

It may take a few tries, but getting through q-school by 25 is very possible.

I have the feeling that if Alex sent his resume to the William Morris Agency, the only bit part they'd give him would be ball boy for MW on the driving range. Or maybe he'd be the target dummy.... Ya, that'd work.
He could be one of those yardage markers.

One-Putt, When Bubbles goes to "Q" school in her senior year at Stanford, will that be before or after her careers as a public speaker and a supermodel?

"Comment from: Alex [Visitor] · http://Alex
One-Putt, When Bubbles goes to "Q" school in her senior year at Stanford, will that be before or after her careers as a public speaker and a supermodel?"

There you go again Alex underestimating Michelle's potential. The same mistake every Wie Hater makes.

By the time Michelle is a Senior at Stanford she will be one of the most sought after and famous people on Earth. Many Americans may not know who the current President at the time is, but they will know who Michelle Wie is. A Supermodel Alex? Try Superstar Status for Michelle in the future. She will be one of the most interviewed/photographed women anywhere.

Of course the Wie Haters will deny this and write tirades of why it won't happen. What they don't realize is they are part of the creation of a phenomenon. When they write something they are adding to the popularity of Michelle Wie. There are over 5,140,000 web hits for Michelle Wie today up some 350,000 hits from last week right after she played in the SK. Her name recognition is thru the roof.

Annika Sorenstam has 1,390,000 hits today.
Paula Creamer has 420,000
Morgan Pressel has 148,000
Christie Kerr this weeks LPGA winner has 1,330,000

Love her or hate her everyone is talking about Michelle Wie

One-Putt, Where did you get the notion that I'm underestimating Bubbles' potential? What I find amusing in the scenario you've painted is this: In five years according to your timetable, Michelle Wie will be a senior at Stanford, where she will no doubt be at or near the top of her class. Meanwhile, during these same five years, she will have attained superstar status in various fields, not the least of which will be Women's golf. I think that I can safely assume that the only way possible for her to gain this status so rapidly will be by winning LPGA majors in double-digit numbers. She will outshine every other person on the planet, including the US President, in name and face recognition. She will do all this while maintaining a stellar academic record at Stanford, hitting the books in earnest, cramming, burning the midnight oil so as to graduate summa cum laude and go on to the next level, which according to your previous posts will be graduate school to acquire an MBA, probably from the Wharton School in Philadelphia since Michelle would never accept anything but the best and most challenging. However, the one thing which will have eluded her is permanent exemption on the PGA tour. Due to the archaic and sexist rules of the PGA, Miss Wie will not have won enough money through her several sponsors' exemptions or met any of the other considerations to be able to enter PGA events whenever her schedule will allow. So then we will be witness to the unlikely spectacle of female college senior, brilliant and wealthy beyond imagination, with a trophy caswe of major LPGA titles, the most famous woman in the history of golf and perhaps every other field, entering the "Q"school tournament with about 1200 aspiring male golfers. For the uninitiated, "Q" stands for qualifying, something alien to Miss Wie. But this humbling, egalitarian gesture by Bubbles will only endear her more to her adoring fans. Of course, Miss Wie will no doubt leave the rest of the aspirants in her wake and put to rest once and for all any thoughts that she can't compete and excel on the PGA tour. One-Putt, I believe that the foregoing was a pretty accurate assessment of the future of Bubbles as you see it. What have they been putting in the water in your neighborhood?

Alex said:
Meanwhile, during these same five years, she will have attained superstar status in various fields, not the least of which will be Women's golf. I think that I can safely assume that the only way possible for her to gain this status so rapidly will be by winning LPGA majors in double-digit numbers.
-------------------------------------

Alex, get real. You are talking by the time Michelle Wie is 21 years old, and you are saying that she will need to have won at least 10 majors.
I wonder if you are completely off your head, or is it that you just know very little about golf.

It took Ms. Sorenstam, the greatest woman player of all time, until she was 34 to have won 10 major titles.

Yet you expect Ms. Wie to have 10, but the time she is 21.

If you put up this kind of expectations, then it is easy for you to claim that she is falling behind form. However, if like most of us, you would think that 3 major titles by the age 21 would put her into unchartered teritory, then that would be more on the mark.

Alex said:
entering the "Q"school tournament with about 1200 aspiring male golfers. For the uninitiated, "Q" stands for qualifying, something alien to Miss Wie.
------------------------------

Sorry Alex, but at 12 years of age, she became the youngest person to ever QUALIFY "Q" for an lpga tournament.
She also "Q" for the mens usga amateur publinx.
When there she "Q" for the knockout stages, and had the great success at getting to the quarter finals.
That was very successful for a 15 year old, given that Tiger's best was to get to the last 32 of a usga mens competition by the time he was 17 years old.

PS.: Many thanks to Norman for this info taken from an earlier post.

Johnny N, Please lay of the insults like "you must be off your head." I simply do not agree with all the grandiose expectations you have for Miss Wie. Please, let's keep it civil. Incidentally, Johnny, when was the last time Michelle was required to qualify in a medal play tournament, whether it be PGA or LPGA? I don't expect her to win 10 LPGA majors in the next five years, but several posters on this board believe that she might. And Johnny, to you also expect Bubb;es to perform all those miracles within the next five years as described by One-Putt?

Alex,
On the point of whether I support One Putts miricles?
Well, I read back on One-putts post, and he seems to be talking about things like her being the most photographed woman and this kind of thing. To me, I have no interest in that and couldn't care less if that happens.
My only interest is in her golfing ability and I've already described my expectations in that regard, but I'll state them again:

- Michelle Wie to be the youngest winner on the lpga, which means winning an lpga title at 16 or 17 years of age.
- Michelle Wie to win 3 lpga major by the age of 21.
- Michelle Wie to try for q-school for the pga tour at 20 years of age, or maybe she'll try even earlier.
I expect it to take her a few years to qualify, but I expect her to get her tour card this way. Meanwhile, she'll have built up experience through exemptions, and so, if she gets her tour card, she'll have plenty of pga experience.

Alex asked:
when was the last time Michelle was required to qualify in a medal play tournament, whether it be PGA or LPGA?
----------------------------------

She has not yet qualified for any pga tournament. She has got 4 exemptions there so far, so that's that one out of the way.

For the lpga, the last tournament she qualified for was the last tournament she played, the Kraft Nabisco. She qualified for that based on last years performance.
She has also qualified for the other 2 majors that way. For the US Open, she hasn't qualified, but it is expected she will get an exemption.

For The Match Play, she will have qualified because that is based on world rankings.

For The Evian Masters, she has qualified due to her 2nd place in 2005.

The US Women's Open is the only tournament disputed by anyone, but I think we should be realistic. The top 40 on the money list in 2005, qualify automatically for the US Open.
Had Michelle been pro and an lpga member, she would have finished 18th on the 2005 money list.

I think that should be enough to get her an invitation. You can be picky if you like and talk about the rules, but by the spirit of the rules, she should get in.

Alex, since I answered your questions, could you answer mine,
Do you think she should have to qualify for the US Open?

Given:
- top 40 in money list from 2005 get in. She would have been 18th on money list had she been an lpga pro, and that was in just 8 events.
- top 35 of 2006 money list up to US Open qualify automatically. If she was an lpga member she would easily be in the top 35.

So should she have to qualify then?

Alex what I find amusing is your inability to accurately assess what she has done already as a sixteen year old and recognize her future potential when she gains more experience.

When a golfer shoots a round of 68 on a course setup for the second round of a 2006 PGA event would you call that a significant accomplishment for someone of any age or gender who is not a tour member?

When a golfer finishes the first two LPGA tournaments they played in 2006 (one of them an LPGA Major) in third place would you call that a significant accomplishment for a woman of any age who is not a tour member?

When a golfer plays in their first Asian PGA Tour event and makes the cut would you call that a significant accomplishment for someone of any age or gender?

Now Alex act like a member of a jury and set aside your personal prejudices and analyze the facts presented to you above before arriving at a decision.

Since we elected you as foreman of this jury, please share with the Court of Public Opinion the decision of the jury based on the evidence presented here today.

One Putt, Alex should also remember that only 11 pga players shot better than that 68, in that pga tour event.

"Comment from: Johnny N. [Visitor]
One Putt, Alex should also remember that only 11 pga players shot better than that 68, in that pga tour event."

Don't confuse the jury with circumstantial evidence John, only the documented facts are being presented to them for consideration today.

"Given:
- top 40 in money list from 2005 get in. She would have been 18th on money list had she been an lpga pro, and that was in just 8 events.
- top 35 of 2006 money list up to US Open qualify automatically. If she was an lpga member she would easily be in the top 35."

Actually she only earned credit for money in seven events for a total of $680,180.

Currently she stacks up at number 15 on the ADT money list this year playing in two events.

Johnny N, Since Miss Wie has no other option, she certainly should be required to qualify for the US Open. Are you referring to the US Open being contested this year at Winged Foot? The one she will be trying for in preliminaries next week on Oahu? The tournaments you mentioned that Michelle will play this year never required her to qualify initially. She played in them last year on sponsors' exemptions. Look, fellows, no one but a fool would claim that Miss Wie has no talent or that she hasn't accomplished a thing. As I've stated repeatedly, I am confident that she will eventually win more than once on the LPGA tour. I am equally as confident that neither she nor any other female will ever become competitive on the PGA tour, let alone win a PGA tour event. That does not, I repeat, DOES NOT make Miss Wie inept or inferior in any way to her male counterparts. As a young woman she is and will always be different from boys and men. I never thought that it would be necessary to explain something so basic. I'm not much of a Francophile, but the French do have an excellent expression to sum up this desirable situation: "Vive la difference!"

Alex,
As you well know I meant the US Womens Open, and certainly she shouldn't have to qualify for that. Rules are written with the intention of bringing in a fair system.
If something happens, like in Wie's case where she has done enough to qualify, but doesn't qualify on the basis of not being an lpga, and is not allowed to be an lpga member based on her age, then the spirit of the rules are broken unless she is given an exemption.

On the point of the other years for those events she was given exemptions. Basically a gamble was taken in giving her those exemptions.
It is my opinion, that her results in those events, proved those people right, who were wise enough to give her exemptions.
For a great example of this, take the lpga championship. Lots of lpga players were complaining when she was given the ememptions. Then what happened? She got 2nd place, and beat everyone in the field by at least 2 shots, excluding Annika Sorenstam.
Surely anyone could recognise that this exemption, whatever doubt before the event, was proven to be completely right after the event.

Alex,
About your opinions about Wie on the pga tour, that is what they are, just your opinions.

The facts are different. She has already showed that she can shoot a 68 in difficult conditions on a pga course, where onely 11 players shoot a better score that day.
She also had 7 birdies in that round that day, which was only matched by 1 other player, and nobody else had as many.

Despite what Alex thinks about the male versus female body, Michelle Wie has shown that she has the necessary physical attributes to compete on the pga tour.
Whether she gains the consistancy and develops her game enough to complete full time is up for discussion, but I think she has already defeated the argument of Alex, where he doesn't recognise that she has the required physical attributes.

Johnny N, The following is what you previously have posted: "One Putt, Alex should also remember that only 11 pga players shot better than that 68, in that pga tour event." I assume that the tournament to which you are referring is the 2006 Sony Open. As you will see by the following summary, that statement is about as far off as it can be. In this , year's Sony there was one 61, there were two 62's, two 63's, four 64's, eight 65's, fifteen 66's, and twenty-three 67's. In addition, there were forty-seven other rounds of 68 equal to Miss Wie's second round score. At the other end of the spectrum, Michelle's first round score of 79 was tied for the second highest of the event, only one round of 80 being recorded. Since your compatriot One-Putt has set up the ground rules and only verifiable evidence if allowed , I thought you might appreciate these corrections.

One-Putt, You surely have been put in awe by what you believe to be a spectacular round by Miss Wie, her 68 in the second round of the 2006 Sony. But let's put that score into some perspective. While it was a commendable score, it was only slightly above the AVERAGE score for four rounds for the 82 golfers who did make the cut, even including James Driscoll who finished at 13 over par. In that tournament, there were 103 rounds of 68 or better. Conversely, Michelle's 79, which her fans conveniently choose to ignore, was exceeded by only one player who went higher, Jimmy Walker's 80.

Four 68s could win some tournaments Alex. My point is not the score, but the conditions she was playing under the day after carding a 79 in front of thousands at the event and millions on TV. Most teenagers would self destruct under such pressure. Michelle showed a boat load of spunk by playing as well as she did.

It seems when Michelle is faced with doom or gloom she reaches down and finds something to kick her into gear. The U.S. Women's Open last year is a prime example. Leading after the third round she played a miserable fourth and carded the infamous 82. So what did she do in her next events and what would a normal fifteen year old do to cope with such a disaster on the World Stage and LPGA Major tournament. This after doing so well and placing second a week earlier at the McDonald's LPGA Classic (LPGA Major)?

She went over to Europe and played the Evian Masters (European Tour Major) with a tie for second with Lorena, followed up the very next week when she scored a third place finish at the Weetabix Women's British Open (LPGA Major).

If that isn't showing some guts, I have no idea what is.

Big NEWS FLASH!!!!!!!!! Annika missed a cut at plus four.

Bigger NEWS FLASH!!!!!!!! Morgan made the cut in a tie for 50th place.

Biggest NEWS FLASH!!!!!!!!!!!Karrie, Cristie, Pat and Julie are going into the weekend in the top four positions without a Korean name in front of them. Talk about Old Home Week, These Gals are Rockin!

One-Putt, Four 68's would indeed win a lot of tournaments, not the Sony, but it would have gotten a top ten placing. But since Michelle only scored one 68, and missed the cut, how is that germane to this discussion? Your concept of Miss Wie's play in the second round of the Sony is a sterling example of how different persons can look at the same results and come to different conclusions. You're obviously a big fan of Michelle, so your take is that after a poor first round, she showed tremendous fortitude by shooting a good round despite the extreme pressure of wanting to do well before the home crowd. I, on the other hand , am a Wie skeptic. Notice I said SKEPTIC. I'm not a Wie hater, and I don't even dislike Miss Wie. Thus, my take is considerably different. I think that after she shot herself out of the tournament in the first round, and with virtually no chance of making the cut, and thus being free from very much pressure, she scored an admirable but meaningless 68 which left her four shots short of the cut line. Interestingly, David Duval, who has been in a prolonged slump, shot a 63 in the final round of the Sony when the pressure was similarly off. There it is, two different takes on the same set of circumstances.

How old is Duval Alex and with how many PGA seasons under his belt? Twelve or thirteen maybe?

Heh. Maybe Alex is a Wie skeptic but, just like the fans, he's sure getting plenty of entertainment value out of her young career.

Welcome to the club, Alex!

And now on to Monday morning, 9am Hawaiian time... :-)

One-Putt, What? Another non-sequitur? Come on, O-P, you can do better than that! MikeW, I do in fact get a great deal of enjoyment from this board. Not so much because of Miss Wie's budding but far from spectacular career-to this point-but for the many, varied, convoluted and incessant excuses her adoring admirers see fit to invent. I love it! Wie Warriors, keep 'em coming!

Alex, as has become customary for you, you have missed the point once again.

I'll try to put it simply for you.
You, Under Par, John Z, have stated on many occasions that Ms. Wie does not have the necessary physical attributes to compete on the pga tour.

Her 68 proved that she has the necessary physical attributes to compete out there, thus proving you wrong.
Whether Ms. Wie can put together 2, and then 4 strong rounds is up for discussion, and something we should find out over the next several years.
However, the point that you have tried to put across about women not being strong enough or having the necessary physical attributes to compete has completely been disproved by the 68, with 7 birdies.

Johnny N, You conveniently forgot to add, "and 5 bogies." I love the way you bandy around the words "prove" and "proven." I respectfully suggest that you research the actual meaning of those words.I'm willing to wait for the next several years to discover if Miss Wie evolves into the greatest golfer in history, male or female. You Wie maniacs ( no offense intended) should take your own advice. Wait several years to bestow the mantle of immortality on Bubbles.

Alex, I haven't bestowed any titles on her.
What I have stated again and again, is that physcially she is up to the job.
That's the issue I'm putting whereas, people like the poster who was into athletics, I think that's John Z, anyway he kept pushing the point of the poor frail womens body and how it wasn't able to compete with these tough men.

Strengthwise she can compete. Whether she has the other necessary attributes, like the consistancy and mental strength should be decided over the next several years.
But the fact that she has it physically, has been proven in my opinion.
What other woman could hit 7 birdies in 1 round on a pga course setup?

What makes it even clearer is that these 7 birdies were not made by monster putts.
Nearly all those birdies were made by accurate iron shots. I don't think any other woman could control the ball that well. So it was the manner of her birdies that convinced me as to her having it physically for sure.

Johnny N, I think I've finally got it. Miss Wie shot a seven birdie, five bogey, two under par 68 in the second round of the 2006 Sony, thereby missing the cut by four shots. In your opinion and presumably the opinions of most Wie fans, that 18 holes of golf is absolute PROOF positive that she has all the physical strength she will ever need to successfully compete on the PGA tour. For any skeptic to suggest otherwise is cause for her supporters to heap scorn upon the heretic and even to call into question his mental stability. There is one thing that must arouse some question in the minds of even the most ardent Wie admirers. At that same Sony event, one day earlier, that same golfer, on that same course chalked up a score of nine over par 79 which included one birdie, but also four bogeys and three double bogeys. Of this I have the following question: What did THAT 18 holes of golf PROVE about Bubbles and her game? Johnny N, I await your reply. Thank you

Alex,
That 79 proved that Ms. Wie can shoot a bad score on a pga course, just as Jason Gore, Retief Goosen, Ernie Els and many others can.

Horray from you, if you leaned something from that, but I had already known that she could shoot a bad score just as many seasoned pros can.

The point you are missing, is that the manner of her 68 showed that she can make plenty of birdies with long drives and precise iron shots.
That showed that she has the physical strenth to pull it off.
Getting rounds like that together is a more difficult thing, and will require her to play well consistanly over 2 rounds on a pga course to make the cut.
However, the point I am making and you have missed repeatedly, is that she has the necessary physical attributes to do that.

Johnny N, I am not missing your point at all. It seems that you a enthralled by the seven birdies she shot in her 68, a round that was equaled or bettered 103 times in the Sony. You wax ecstatic over her masterful iron shots that led to her birdies in that round. But her score was far from perfect; she also had five bogeys in that very round where her iron shots obviously weren't so brilliant. You can't bring yourself to even acknowledge those bogeys. She was even outscored by four strokes in that round by her playing partner in what you consider her greatest single achievement thus far in her career. In the opinions of several golf experts, Miss Wie's 69 in the second round of the 2004 Sony was far better technically than was her second round score this year. And in 2004 she only missed the cut by a single stroke.

Johnny N,
I understand what you are getting at, but don't bank on Alex getting it.
What you are saying is that the manner of her round proved that she has the physical ability to compete. You are merely making that one point, to put against Alex earlier arguments that a woman couldn't physcially compete on the pga.
I understand what you mean, but trying to explain it to Alex is like hitting your head against a brick wall.

Alex is making a number of other mistakes also. He states that her round was equaled or bettered 103 times in the Sony.
That doesn't matter one bit. In professional golf the only scores a round can be compared to are scored on that day.
For example, when Michelle shot her 68, the best score that day was 64. Then the next day, the best score was 61. There were EASIER SCORING CONDITIONS on Saturday.
On Saturday plenty of people equalled or bettered 68. That does not mean anything, because conditions were easier.

The only scores you can compare to Michelle's 68 were the scores which were posted on Friday. Of those scores, 11 were better than Michelle, 6 were equal, and 126 scores were worse than Michelles.
The fact is pretty obvious to any reasonable person, that was a great round for a girl just turned 16 on the greatest tour around.
It doesn't mean that she is guaranteed to get a pga tour card, or to be a winner on the pga tour down the line. It simply backs up Johnnie N's point that she has what is needed on a physical basis. That stands in the face of what many macho people are claiming.

Also, Alex pointing out Michelle's bogies helps reinforce the argument. Having watched her round. Many of the bogies were simple mistakes which could have been easily avoided. It wasn't any lack of strength that cost her these bogies, it was simple elementary errors. So for her to give away some shots cheaply and still score better than 126 pros in that round shows just what a great game she has.

Norman, You as a Wie cultist fully understand Johnny N's convoluted reasoning, in fact, you embellish it considerably. I, on the other hand , am a Wie skeptic. I see your views and those of the other Wie sycophants as suppositions, distortions, and wishful thinking. That, my friend , is what's known as a difference of opinion, nothing more, nothing less. Please notice that I have made no derogatory comments as to your IQ's or your mental stability. I simply think that you folks expect too much too soon from Miss Wie and that your unrealistic dreams will quite likely never come to fruition.