We will see in 3 years whether Van Sicke has a crystal ball or on to some drug really.

Until then I will bet my money on Wie having a better year than Pressel.

Just like you wold have bet your money on Michelle wie making the cut at the Sony, June?

I don't like hearing Pressels' name mentioned among those of Wie and Creamer.

Pressel has yet to prove herself.

Wie and Creamer have proven themselves many times over.
All Pressel has is 1 2nd place finish at the US Open, which is very admirable, but her other lpga finishes are not so good.
Wie and Creamer have proven lpga track records.

Jackson, FYI I didn't bet my money on her making the cut at SONY Open. I sure hoped that she made it and certainly disappointed that she didn't but that's another story and I am also with Norman about Pressel.

Pressel is yet to porve herself on LPGA level and that's why i predicted Michelle will have a better year on LPGA this year.

This too we have to wait and see, of course.

Of the three young ladies mentioned, only Paula Creamer has proved herself on the LPGA tour, proved herself to be a winner that is. Before everybody gets their panties in a bunch, I think Wie has proved that she can compete and finish in the top 5 nearly at will, but to truly prove yourself you must win. Therefore Pressel and Wie belong in the exact same company, budding stars who have great talent, but no wins as of yet. I think very few people would argue that Wie does not have the most potential and most overall game of the three, but until she wins on tour she deserves to be in the same boat with the other future stars of the LPGA. Michelle, probably has better overall results then Creamer in her short time on tour, but the wins and rookie of the year set Paula apart for the time being. I agree that Michelle has had slightly better results then Pressel, but Pressel's distinquished amateur career and 2nd at the women's open put her in the conversation.

Some good points Jackson.
Of the 3 mentioned ladies, Creamer is the only one who has really proved herself.

Wie's high finishes are great and maybe she will join Paula as a winner, but for the moment Paula is the class act out of these three.

Paula will also win more events this season than the other 2 put together.

[i]Pressel is yet to porve herself on LPGA level and that's why i predicted Michelle will have a better year on LPGA this year.[/i]

June,

You don't think Pressel finishing second in the 2005 Women's US Open proved anything.

She also won the 2005 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.

Morgan Pressel made the cut in all seven of her 2005 LPGA Tour appearances, with two top-five finishes, none lower than 25th, including a 19th place finish at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, also an LPGA Tour major. Had she been a professional, she would have earned more than $400,000 and placed 32nd on the LPGA money list.

http://www.iseekgolf.com/news/8543

Blazer wrote:

"June,

You don't think Pressel finishing second in the 2005 Women's US Open proved anything."

Becuase the same people who wnats to give those credit to what Pressel did at US Open never seem to be willing to give Michelle's 3 second palce and a third place on another major.

Even so, at least on LPGA Pressel is still one time fluke (?). I am not denying she was a grewat amateur because she was. But the course and playing field on LPGA won't be an easy adjustment for her mainly due to her physical limit (She is rather short and generate only so much of power off the tee.)

My question mark on Pressel on LPGA was and is her tee-to-green game. Her short game and putting are her stroingest point. But because of her tee-to-green game, she will contend only so many times on LPGA.

Generally speaking a player with better tee-to-green game put themselves in the contention more often than those who don't. Closing out the deal is another matter but you have to put yourself in that position first.

So out of three, Creamer and Michelle will find themselves in contention more often than Pressel.

Blazer,
Pressel is indeed a good golfer.
Her US Open 2nd place was a very great achievement, far better than anything she achieved on an amateur level.

She may well be a force next year, but her length off the tee does worry me a little about her.

I think Wie's 4 top 3 finishes shows that she has to be considered a realistic contender in any lpga tournament she enters.

Given a full season, Pressel may also become a contender in every tournament.

I disagree with NORMAN. I like Pressel's name being mentioned here. Take all the tournaments in which all 3 play this year. If Michelle Wie is able to outperform either one of them(say in official earnings) then Michelle Wie has far exceeded expectations which call for both Creamer and Pressel to do much better than Wie. I for one believe that Wie will far exceed expectations this year.

Norman, Pressel's drives last year in the LPGA were around the same length as Creamer's. They were both around 250 average in the 6 events they both played.

Of course both of them were around 20 yards shorter than Annika, 25 yards shorter than Wie and 10-15 shorter than Miyazato.

Both creamer and pressel can not outdrive wie's 3 wood. Matter of fact in several occasions at lpga championship wie outdove creamer by as much as 20 yards with her 3 wood. Now pressel's biggest problem is she hits her iron extremely short even by lpga standard. That's why I believe pressel will be 2nd coming of vicki goetze, tremenmdous amateur player who failed to win single lpga tournament yet.

I used to have the biggest crush on Vicki Goetze. God was she cute.

Over the past few years we've seen long drives don't matter as much on the LPGA, especially in the Women's US Open.

If you look at the past 4 US Open winners they are all short knockers, relatively speaking.

2002: Julie Inkster
2003: Hillary Lunke
2004: Meg Mallon
2005: Birdie Kim

If you look at the top 20 money leaders on the LPGA tour for 2005 only 4 were also in the top 20 driving distance:

Annika
Lorena Ochoa
Heather Bowie
Pat Hurst

Interesting stats Blazer. It's not that different on the PGA, only 5 were both in the top 20 in money and driving distance (Tiger, Vijay, Perry, Garcia and Love).

Actually 8 of the PGA top 20 in money were over 100th in driving distance (less than 289 yards) which should be some comfort to Wie.

Blazer, US Open course is specifically designed that way so it doesn't have any merit to your argument. Sure length off the tee isn't such a big deal in LPGA unlike PGA as of now. But still a factor. A wedge is always a better option than a iron, right?

And who says LPGA course won't become longer as time goes?

Paul W,

Good stats. Thanks.

June,

For the ladies a wedge from the rough isn't as good as an iron from the fairway.

You mean they actually call that fluffy stuff near the LPGA fairways rough? Give me a break it is shorter than the first cut of rough on a PGA tour fairway.

The setups on the LPGA Tour aren't going to get significantly longer anytime soon because there's no reason to lengthen them. Certainly Michelle Wie alone isn't a good reason.

It looks like the Fields Open in Hawaii will be Michelle's next event (according to Patrick). All the Gals mentioned above should be in the field, so who do you pick to come out on top even if they are not the winner?

Ronnie we already have your vote logged.

Paula 1 vote.

Personally I think Nat is due for a win after her racy calendar spread and new Reality show.

They were talking about lengthening pga courses to Tiger proof them.

Could they soon lengthen pga courses to Michelle proof them?

Jim, who says that Creamer and Pressel are expected to do much better then Wie? The anti Wie contingent? This is a prime example of what drives me and a lot of others nuts. You pump up Michelle to almost superhuman status, mentioning her unbelivable length, precise iron shots, poise and maturity. You use her 68 in the second round of the Sony to prove that she has more game then any women in history. All your data and insights point to her being unbeatable on the women's tour, her numerous victories all but guarenteed. Just to cover your ass though you throw in some garbage about Wie not being expected to do as well as Pressel and Creamer, so if she happens to finish in front of them in a couple of tournaments you can say what a great season she had. Wie fans want their cake and eat it to. You can't be a dominant golfing god and an underdog at the same time. The fact is with all her talent and genetic advantages she should win early and often on the LPGA tour, hell she probably should have won by now. It's put up or shut time for Michelle and her fans, enough talk about her age and potential, she has the game, it's time to see some wins. With her distance and shotmaking ability, she shouldn't ever worry about the likes of Pressel, Creamer or even Sorrenstam, but she does because a miliion dollar body doesn't go well with her ten-cent head.

Jackson may not be a kid as someone suggested, but there is room for improvement in the golfing knowlege area.

You seem to think that Wie has much more talent than anyone and should go out and win by default. The fact of the matter is it is you that is wrong in this assertion, and in one way, makes you more of a Wie-fanatic than anyone else in these blogs.

Wie's current position in women's golf is that she is a long way behind Annika on lpga course setups. Annika is far far ahead of her so for you to suggest that Wie should be waling away with titles is very over optimistic of her talents.

Yes she is a fantastic talent. She is probably the best 16 year old golfer anywhere, but the fact remains that most golfers don't mature until their 30's, not to mind doing it in their teens.

So, although Wie has buckets of talent and lots of shots, she is not the complete player as of yet, and expecting her to be, is expecting too much.

The other point is, that people don't think Creamer and Pressel are better than Wie. The reason we are saying that they may do better than her is because they are due to play full seasons. They will most likely play about 25 events all on the same type of lpga courses. With all those events the odds of winning improves dramatically.

I can say that if Wie were to play 25 lpga events in a season and not win any, I would be completely shocked, even at her current age.

Playing 8 events is much different, especially when Annika will probably win about 4 of those.

Comment from: jackson [Visitor]

"With her distance and shotmaking ability, she shouldn't ever worry about the likes of Pressel, Creamer or even Sorrenstam, but she does because a miliion dollar body doesn't go well with her ten-cent head."

I beg to differ with your statement Michael. After Michelle's Nike-Sony deal and her appearance money for the Casio it is a 10.5 million dollar body with that ten-cent head.

JACKSON

According to Gary Van Sickle at SI (see the blog) "Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel seem much better positioned to succeed in women's golf". That sounds to me like he is saying that his expectations are much higher for Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel than for Michelle Wie--and I was saying that I believe I that Michelle Wie will actually far exceed these expectations by actaully doing better than at least one of those LPGA pros(namely Morgan Pressel) this year in the tournaments that all 3 play.

It sounds to me like the anti-Wie brigade wants to say that Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel are much better than Michelle Wie--but then be unwilling to admit that Michelle Wie has exceeded THEIR expectations if she does better than one or both of those ladies. If you really believe that Morgan Pressel is much better positioned than Wie, it should be a recognized acomplishment if Wie outperforms her. It will take a lot more than beating Morgan Pressel for Michelle Wie to exceed my expectations. I will acknowledge that Morgan Pressel has exceeded my expectations if she does better than Wie. Will the people who say Morgan Pressel is much better positioned to succeed say the same if Wie outperforms Pressel?

Michelle Wie and PC.

If any publication were going to be careful to avoid politically incorrect criticism of Michelle Wie it would be SI. But SI reporters are quite free to express themselves pro or con on the subject of Michelle Wie.

Michelle Wie is far more gracious and ladylike than Morgan Pressel has been--but in that regard I am hoping for a change in Morgan once she gets away from the grandfather who has made her into a spoiled princess. But I assume Gary was talking about her golfing image. In that regard NORMAN should be able to answer the question of whether SONY helped or hurt her image. What happened to the jodds on her winning LPGA Majors as a result of SONY?

Wow ! 24 comments so far. The reaction to this controversy proves that new young stars and a teenager girl's reckless attempt at proving herself by running into a wall will generate a lot of interest.

This will probably bring the highest ratings ever for the LPGA in 2006 tournaments where Anika, Paula, Morgan, Brittany and Michelle (and a few others)will all be in the field.

As for the girls making cuts or winning on the PGA Tour, in 2007, open 10 EXTRA spots (so as not to deprive any deserving pro) in the 4 majors on the PGA tour and give them to the 10 best women golfers including these top prospects. Top field, top courses, lenght, rough, slick greens etc...This should settle the argument.

Jim COULTHARD wrote:

[i]Michelle Wie is far more gracious and ladylike than Morgan Pressel has been[/i]

They're both kids and shouldn't be held to ladylike judgement.

What Pressel has shown though is personality. Something MW is devoid of.

Yes, at least Pressel has a personality - and a strong one, for that matter.

All you ever get out of Michelle Wie is a little squeaky, giggly psuedo-answer or non-sensical response.

Her answers remind me of the scene in Bull Durham where Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) was teach Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) how to talk to the media.

I want to get some chocolate. I need a GPS on my ball. It wasn't my day. Making birdies on a PGA course is, like, cool.

When asked which one is more important to her, winning in the LPGA or making a PGA cut she answered, "Both".

I don't think it's all Michelle's fault. It's very clear she is the product of overly controlling parents.

>>>>>When asked which one is more important to her, winning in the LPGA or making a PGA cut she answered, "Both".

I read about that somewhere.

Thanks Mark.

I was wondering how high the bar is set for Michelle now that she can only appear in six LPGA events as a professional?

Does she need to win all six to gain some respect from the Anti-Wie Jackboots?

Her fans have set the bar for Michelle, not her detractors. The jackboots as you call them, only want a single win. One win is all she needs to silence most of her critics. The argument, in my mind has never been whether or not she has the talent, but whether or not she can win. Top 10's are great, but they are not wins, winning would go a long way to proving that she not only has the ability, but the will and mentality to close the deal. Her detractors do not need to see multiple majors and PGA cuts made, her fans with all their talk about her unparralled skill and talent do. In your eyes she must be a failure if she does not fufill that talent by becoming the greatest women's golfer of all time and a PGA tour card holder would be a huge letdown. The jackboots just want a win to match some of the hype.

Jackson, Michelle's fans seem satisfied with the progress she has made so far. It's her detractors who are saying "win now". I don't really understand why there is such a big hurry. Besides, even if she has a win this year, I don't think it will silence her detractors.

If Creamer and Pressel do not perform better than Wie this year, then shame on them. Last year Paula won twice in 24 attempts. That's 8.3% tournaments won. Since Wie plays only 8 tournament events if she were to win 2 of them that would be 25% tournaments won. This may be possible but not probable. Since she plans to go on to Stanford she may not have a full schedule on the LPGA Tour for another 5 years. All I know is what I see. This girl can flat out play. Phil Blackmar, who followed Michelle at the John Deere Classic, said the most amazing thing to him was that it appeared that she really belonged out there with the men and never looked out of place. When I first saw her play at the 2004 Sony, I like Fred Couples once said was not prepared for it. I just could not believe a 14 years old girl could hit a ball with that much power. I was at the Orchards for the 2004 U.S. Open and followed her for the first 3 holes of the second round. The sound of the ball cutting through the air as it came flying by was absolutely incredible. As I only live 35 minutes from Newport, R.I. I will be at the U.S. Open to watch Michelle and all the women play.

It's always the same thing with the Wie crowd. Endless praise regarding her game, followed by endless excuses regarding her results. if she wins she should be hailed as the greatest, if she does not, then it's becuse of her age, inexperience, school, competition, etc... James you have come up with new praise, however, now her ball sounds different??? She's no longer 14, she's 16 and she is no closer to making a cut on the PGA tour and has exactly the same amount of wins on the LPGA, 0. Hey I don't have a problem with her being winless at age 16, but wouldn't it stand to reason with all her talent, skill and undeniable physical gifts she would have won by now.

Michelle just needs to play golf to the best of her ability each time she tees it up. Competitive golf is a game where the winner has made the fewest errors and many times hit the most accurate shots on that given day.

Tiger, Annika, Paula, Vijay and the other pro players do not win every event they enter although the talent and work ethic is there to do so. How they do win is by minimizing errors and avoiding bogeys during that particular 3 or 4 round event.

Tiger entered twenty regular PGA events and won six, finishing first on the PGA/World money list.
Vijay entered twenty-five regular PGA events and won four, finishing second on the list.
Annika entered twenty regular LPGA events and won ten, finishing first on the LPGA/World money list.
Paula entered twenty-five regular LPGA events and won two, finishing second on the list.

The one stat that tells me Michelle belongs on the Pro Tour was her productivity during the few LPGA events she entered, where she averaged $96,000 (if she had taken the money) in winnings per event.

Paula Creamer who ended up second on the LPGA money list averaged $56,000 per event entered.

If Michelle maintained this pace during a full season of twenty events (not twenty-five) she possibly would have been the second leading money winner on the LPGA tour without a win in 2005.

Michelle can be quite proud of what she accomplished as a fifteen year old girl playing with the Pros.

Making at least $10Million a year in endorsements alone, this little 16-year old girl is making more than a lot of PGA pros already.

Looks like a winner already!

Yes, Michelle is an incredible talent, but she still has a long way to go. The most important thing she needs to do is to learn how to win tournaments. For all the golf that she's played, she has only won one (the 2003 USGA Women's Amateur Public Links), and she just hasn't developed the mental edge needed to win events. Plus, she's still growing, and as her body grows, she will have to continue to make changes and adjustments to her swing. I think that Michelle may be trying to bite off a little too much at this point. She's not ready. She needs more time to develop both mentally and physically. Look at Tiger. He developed his game along a specific and purposeful track, and it seems to have done pretty well for him, and he's still making changes to his swing as his body ages. Michelle will do great and wonderful things for all of golf, and I can't wait to see what actually happens. I think it's fine that she plays a limited LPGA schedule, but I also think that her PGA sponsor exemptions are going to start to wear a little thin after a while. She needs to gear back a little, or she might burn out.

I think Michelle Wie showed a lot of mental toughness coming back from a first round 79 and 3 straight bogeys to shoot her second round 68. Let us see how she does this year, starting next month.

Jackson said:
She's no longer 14, she's 16 and she is no closer to making a cut on the PGA tour and has exactly the same amount of wins on the LPGA, 0. Hey I don't have a problem with her being winless at age 16, but wouldn't it stand to reason with all her talent, skill and undeniable physical gifts she would have won by now.
**********************************

Jackson,
It would stand to reason that she should have won, if she was playing full season of golf.

However playing just 8 lpga events, means the chances of winning are greatly reduced.

In my opinion, if any woman player excluding Annika, was to enter just the 8 events that Michelle entered, then they would not have won either.

Jim Coulthard said:
In that regard NORMAN should be able to answer the question of whether SONY helped or hurt her image. What happened to the jodds on her winning LPGA Majors as a result of SONY?
*******************************

The 2nd round at the Sony showed just what she is capable of. Given that it was on a pga course and she made 7 birdies, which was more birdies on that day than everyone in the field except 1 man, shows just what talent she has.

I think the sensible bookies will realise how this should help her this season on the lpga tour, and I think the odds on her winning will have shortened considerably.

There is still more of a chance of Pressel winning, than Wie winning, this year, due to the volume of events each will be playing. 8 versus 25 so it is obvious.

Wie just announced her next try against men will be in a tournament in S. Korea in May, the SK Telekom Open. Won't be a big deal if she made the cut there since Se-Ri Pak already did.

Regarding all the talk about driving distance, reminder that last year Michelle Wie's average driving distance was 269 yards, which puts her near the top of the LPGA and dead average on the PGA Tour. Everyone who thinks she bombs every drive 300+ yards needs to check their facts. On average, Wie is probably 20 yards longer than the average LPGA pro, no more.

Michelle Wie simply needs to continue to develop a complete game and she will win on the LPGA tour. I expect that none of the new crop of women (Wie, Creamer, Pressel and others coming up) will be able to dominate on the LPGA tour the way Annika has in recent years. There are too many young, talented and very athletic girls coming up through the ranks.

Of the three of them, I would take Pressel as my pick to have the most wins in 5 years, Creamer second, and Wie third. I just think Pressel is a winner with the mentality to get the job done.