Hawaiian teen qualifies for the U.S. Open!!!!! Media goes wild

Mark,
That 15 year old qualified from the Hawaii sectional.

There was just a field of 10.
Michelle could have entered that event, but if she had, people like you would have claimed it was no good because of avoiding the best competition.
You cannot have it both ways. Good luck to the kid, but I doubt he would have qualified from Summit. In fact, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have.

Norman, chill. Mark is simply being ironic. There were really only 10 in the Hawaiian sectional? Is that legal? Only off-shore? More power to Todd. Reminds me of Derek Tolan a few years back at Bethpage. Wonder if his parents have to purchase him a car, too?

Norman--Taking shots at 15 year-old boys, you should be ashamed of yourself. You are so big on facts, so here they are: This kid is playing in the U.S. Open and Michelle Wie is not. End of story. You can spin it however you like, but as predicted Michelle Wie was not up to the challenge. She played beautifully tee to green and was done in by poor putting. She should be congratulated for making it as far as she did. I think it's rather funny that she keeps stringing all of you along with the promise of greatness, but never delivers when it matters. You at least seem to have the good sense to assume she will fail before she even tees it up, that way saving face when she inevitably does. She has many years of golf ahead of her and may indeed qualify one day and on that day I will stand up and cheer for her.

Ford, The Wie devotees seem to think that Bubbles' stretch of three bogies in the second round did her in. Nothing could be further from the truth. She made four bogeys in the 36 holes. They say "What if she didn't make those four bogeys? What if she had saved par on those holes? Guess what? She still would not have qualified! What more proof do the Wie Warriors need to realize that Bubbles was NEVER in contention to qualify for the Open?

Her father says "I think Michelle demonstrated that it is possible for a woman to play in a men's major." Excuse me, but she missed it by five shots!! That is ridiculous. He also said that the greens were difficult for her, so many subtle breaks. I suppose they were flat and all putts were straight in for the men that played. Let's prove that she can beat women first, then maybe learn how to read those subtle greens that the PGA plays on.

Wow, 3 guys who need help. Don't worry I'll try.

Ford, on the kid, fair play to him. I merely stated that if Michelle qualified from the Hawaii sectional people would have insulted the field there.
On the whole failure thing, it is far from failure. She got further than last year, by getting through local qualifying. At Sectional she was tied 58th and that is very respectable.

Alex,
Some excellent points. I am glad to have you on the team. As you stated, Michelle wasn't close to qualifying. I am glad we agree on that.
Some people were claiming that her 3 bogeys in a row were due to pressure. You and I Alex know that she really wasn't that close so it was nothing to do with pressure.

Howard, she did indeed demonstrate that it is possible for a woman to qualify. BJ meant she showed it physically. You should understand that there have been many people who claimed that a woman just couldn't be up to the job physically. She proved that she was very much up to the job from a physical strength point of view. However her putting needs to improve.

As regards the greens, yes they are more difficult for her, due to her inexperience. Most of the field have alot more experience on these types of extremely tough greens.
For example the lpga greens are like a flat surface in comparison to those greens.

Of course everyone plays on the same greens and all that, but there is no problem in pointing out that her inexperience is going to test her on those greens.

By the way, I am delighted with her performance. If she had not made the 3 bogeys and pared out instead, it would have been better, but I think it is maybe better she did not qualify this time round.
Winged foot is going to be extremely difficult for top 10 players, not to mind Michelle Wie. I don't think she would have benefited that much by playing there at this stage.
Instead she has put in a very impressive debut at Sectional qualifying and laid great foundations for future attempts.

Howie, it is not the greens at the Summit sectional that was the issue, but the type of grass. Bermuda grass is what you find in tropical islands; you don't find it in the Mainland US. Golf balls behave and break differently. You need to get used to different type of grass at the pro level. Why do I bother with these?

Tadd is my friend...I'm glad he is getting some recognition for his great play...but I do realize that if Michelle had entered the hawaii sectional, she probably would have qualified...

jon, I must remind you that Michelle Wie has played on that type of green many times before. She practiced on the Canoe Brook courses for FOUR DAYS prior to the competition. She had her battery of coaches with her during these intense practice sessions. BJ Wie firmly stated that she was as ready as she would ever be to take on the field. She simply was not even close to being good enough to qualify. All the hindsight and concocting of excuses won't change that fact.

Let's hope Todd does well next week. If he doesn't Wie critics will be talking about how badly the Hawaiian teen did in the Open and somehow conclude that means Michelle Wie should not be competing against the men.

Derek Tolan beat out a PGA player in a playoff for the last spot in his qualifier. He did not play in the very weak type of qualifier that Todd appears to have played in. It sounds like the type of sectional that could only take place in Hawaii--where travel difficulties would prevent most players from taking advantage of the opportunity to play in a very weak sectional.

Jim COULTHard, From your post it would seem like you have already come to that conclusion. If your version of "doing well" means making the cut, any sensible person would have to say he has vitually no chance. But then, I doubt if he had any illusions that he would. Probably 99%+ of the thousands of club pros and amateurs who entered realized that making it to Winged Foot and making the cut would be like winning the lottery. Only the Wie Warriors actually thought that such a rank outsider as Bubbles had a chance. A few crackpots actually dreamt that she might finish top ten. The cut in the Open will probably be at about 146, 6 over. If todd shoots 150 with the tough conditions, I'd say he did well. A made cut would be extraordinary.

Alex, there's something that must be borne in mind. The Wiemen's definition of doing well is however Bubbles finished in her last event.

Alex, I suppose I can entertain you a bit. I am not making excuses for Wie. Her putting was atrocious. I know what she did and I don't need people telling me or reminding me how poorly she putted. What I am interested in, though, is why she putted so poorly, especially after having putted well in the SK Open. The obvious answer is that her putting is not there yet, not nearly as consistent as it needs to be. She needs to be able to read the greens much better. But also, the texture of the greens in general and the type of grass in particular is significant. Afterall the type of grass she practices in Hawaii is Bermuda grass. Unlike more seaseoned PGA pros, I don't think she has enough experience to make the necessary adjustments on the golf course. So, my interest is whether her putting woe is 1)one time deal, 2)an on-going issue or 3)something that can be straightened out in the course of the summer. We'll see. But given her work ethics and seeming dedication, I would venture to guess that it is the combination of 2) and 3). Maybe she needs another coach, Pelz, to help her with her putting, along with Leadbetter. I also think while Wie is more than capable of winning LPGA majors at the moment, actually doing it isn't going to be that easy. First time is always hard in anything. She might need a few tries this summer before doing it. Once she is over the jump, I think it will be considerabley easier afterwards. Just a conjecture on my part.

jon, Actually, there are many courses on mainland USA that have Bermuda greens. Unless, of course, you don't consider Florida as mainland USA.

Florida is still part of the USA? I thought we gave up Florida to Cuba long ago and there is a travel restriction in effect. I'm sure I read something about the last American out of Miami bringing the Flag with them.