There are similarities, but there are also differences. David Duval did get sponsors exemptions to the PGA, but he had limited success in PGA events until he joined the tour. On the other hand, he won twice on the Nationwide Tour--so no one could have said he hadn't learned to win at a lower level.

David Duval had a lot of 2s before he finally broke through winning on the PGA. But he also played a lot of events. His first two years on the tour he was top 5 about 1/4 of the time--but he also missed almost 1/4 of the cuts.

By contrast Michelle Wie has been top 5 in every event this year on the LPGA--and never more than 2 shots from the lead in stroke play.

I just have to nitpick here.... wasnt MW 3 shots out of the lead after round 1 of this year's Evian?? Now I know you mostly likely meant at the end of the tournament BUT that's not what you wrote. Im hoping that Jim C is James Coulthard... that was too much fun.

.... yep, you guessed it, I can't type...

Great performance by a great kid two weeks after leaving her last event on a strecher in a ambulance.

Nothing to be ashamed of when a Hall of Fame member (with a resurrected championship golf game) steps up and plays her best back nine of the week on the final day. Props to Karrie for bringing it home.

I predicted Michelle would need a 66 to win and I imagine she had that number in mind also.

I was disappointed that Lorena didn't step up to the front or Paula the defending champion, but they played as hard as they could. Brittany was the biggest disappointment of the week. I thought she had learned how to win? Match play is not the same as stroke play Brittany. You need birdies or eagles to win.

I am a Wie fan. David who ? Who in the world is David Duval ? Wasn't he the person who starred in Godfather ?

Brittany One-Putt is back to normal. Just plain bad.

I didn't think she was a gracious winner, criticizing Michelle in her post game interview

Here's my prediction. She'll never be in the top 10 again. Ever

It would hardly be fair to wish something not good for Brittany, but negative comments coming from some LPGA players project a stereotypically poor image of women competitors--claws, meows and hisses. Michelle seems to know how to stay above all that no matter what is directed at her and she's only 16 to boot.

Michelle keeps elevating her game and each game is starting to smooth out more and she is beoming more consistent, so she is headed to the very top of the podium just like how Annika, Kerri, Se Ri, and Lorena are all doing which starts to elevate the quality of LPGA games. Michelle is in good company with the aforementioned experienced players. She just hasn't won yet, that's all.

Those players who keep making petty comments should focus on their game and get better and be consistently in the top 5. Perhaps they were all absent when the sportsmanship class covered "How To Be Gracious".

JUST IN! I know one 16 year old who is doing it, being gracious and also finishing in the top 5, within the limited amount of tournaments she is allowed to play on the LPGA Tour Bravo to her and what's her name? Quick, you media types just hype the hell out of her.

Brittany is just another one of those spoiled snotnosed little golf brats!

Brittany who? Can't be the one who said she drives as far as Michelle and uses the same club for every shot? Pretty hilarious.

"Comment from: Jay [Visitor]
I am a Wie fan. David who ? Who in the world is David Duval ? Wasn't he the person who starred in Godfather ?"

No Jay you're thinking of the X-Files.

Ron I don't seem to recall David Duval entering any PGA tournaments at sixteen, could you enlighten me? How many did he finish in the top five by the way?

Let's see if I can wrap my arms around this one and get a clue Ron? You compared a grown man who joined the PGA Tour to a sixteen year old girl two years removed from her potential LPGA Rookie season in 2008?

The problem with bloggers, the media and critics concerning Michelle Wie is they are trying to fit her into a box and she doesn't fit. It would be easy if there were other fifteen or sixteen year old high school part time professional golfers to compare her to, but they have never existed.

It is also easy to say Miss Wie should have won by now and is choking at the end of a tournament, although I have never seen that happen in her professional events. In the minds of the groups I mentioned, it must seem like a pretty simple thing to win a professional golf tournament or finish in the top five each time they enter. Piece of cake right?

Last season we watched Annika win 20 events and dominate the LPGA. So what is different about this year Ron? Annika should have ten wins by now. I would say for the past couple of seasons the level of competition had dropped off and Annika took advantage of the situation. Karrie and Se Ri had lost their swing and given a bye to the rest of the tour. That ain't the case now, these senior players are rockin and the only young golfer who can compete with them is Michelle Wie.

In fact Ron look at some of the names we have seen this year on the leaderboards: Inkster, Hurst, Davies, Pak, Webb and a few others we haven't seen there for quite some time.

Last season seven under was good enough for second place at the Evian and this season it took a score of fourteen under to finish second. The senior players have ramped things up a bit and we all get a chance to enjoy the ride.

As a golf pro, you either win or not win. Who cares about top 5? Stop all these craps!

nongolfer..actually Brittany Lincicome does hit it just as far, if not farther, than MW.

Comment from: JR [Visitor]
nongolfer..actually Brittany Lincicome does hit it just as far, if not farther, than MW.
07/30/06 @ 08:23
Yes she does. And that is where the similarity ends.

Michelle stays in the top 5 and Brittany manages the bottom 5. Unless she is getting a bagfull of luck in matchplay where it's anybodies guess who can win on a given week.
Ask Marisa Baena.

Comment from: JR [Visitor]
nongolfer..actually Brittany Lincicome does hit it just as far, if not farther, than MW.
_____________________________

JR,

Evian Masters:
Michelle averaged 272.5 yards.
Brittany averaged 266.5 yards.
Michelle was 1st in driving distance for the tournament. Brittany was in 4th place.

At the US Womens Open:
Michelle averaged 264.9 yards.
Brittany averaged 254.3 yards.
Michelle was 1st in driving distance. Brittany was in 5th place.

Brittany is a long driver, but not as long as Michelle.

I would have liked Brittany. She had a great chance to separate herself from Creamer and Pressel and present herself as an alternative to Michelle. She has a compelling story about how she has gotten to where she is (having done odd jobs to support her golf career). Who wouldn't root for a girl like that? Instead, she chose to unleash her cattiness. Meaness is the worst quality of a man or a woman. And it always comes back to hunt the person.

Until the Evian Lincicome was averaging 281.7 yds per drive--but driving stats don't mean that much when there are players who don't use a driver on the measured driving holes. I doubt that Lincicome drives the ball as far a Wie, but to show that we would need to look not only at distance but also what clubs were used. The recent decrease in Lincicome's length is probably the result of using shorter clubs much as we see Wie has been doing.

Lincicome is not a spoiled brat. She did not have the financial advantages of Wie, Creamer, or Pressel. If you read her HSBC interview following her win over Wiem you will see that the hostility directed at Wie did not come from Brittany, but from the LPGA interviewer. Don't blame the victim, who was actually more Brittany than Michelle, blame the attacker--or better still the power behind the attacker: Carolyn Bivens.

Actually I think the two poor openning rounds for Brittany may be a blessing in disguise for her. Michelle Brittany comparisons should be quickly relegated to the back burner, and she will be able to get confidence from having won, without the baggage of being expected to be the great HUMBLE LIKE MORGAN PRESSEL WHO WON'T PLAY ON THE PGA UNTIL I'M NUMBER ONE ON THE LPGA IF THEN hope.

One-Putt
I fully agree re: older golfers on the LPGA. The game is ramped up now and I'm really liking it. When I watched last year's Evian Master(just last week), it really struck me that it wasn't just that Creamer was playing well. It's just there was no one really putting up a challenge.

If you look at the number of playoffs this year and how close game is, it really shows that the LPGA is becoming more competitive. I'd say where Wiesy is now, is pretty sweet considering the field.

One-Putt, as always, you are correct. Who can argue with you?

Ron Mon,
I am really perplexed by the fact that every time Ms Wie has had an opportunity to win a golf tournament she always finds a way to lose it. It seemed that when she was two strokes up with 7 holes to play she probably thought "oh my God, I am in a position to win this tournament...now, what do I have to do so I can lose it." Wait, I will hit my driver on No.13 so I will be certain to reach that fairway bunker. Maybe she will be the female Tom Kite who had so many 2nd place finishes that he always was at the top of the money list every year. At Royal Lytham there are nearly 200 bunkers...good luck girls, you will need it.

What will Michelle critics say when she is 6'4" 180 pounds and will be driving the ball 350 yards. I can't wait to see their silly grins on their silly little faces.

Ron Mon.

How can you claim that One-Putt, as always, is correct after he claimed that last year we watched Annika win 20 events and dominate the LPGA? And wouldn't it be possible for someone to argue with the number 20 there?

Ron Mon,
I am really perplexed by the fact that every time Ms Wie has had an opportunity to win a golf tournament she always finds a way to lose it. It seemed that when she was two strokes up with 7 holes to play she probably thought "oh my God, I am in a position to win this tournament...now, what do I have to do so I can lose it." Wait, I will hit my driver on No.13 so I will be certain to reach that fairway bunker. Maybe she will be the female Tom Kite who had so many 2nd place finishes that he always was at the top of the money list every year. At Royal Lytham there are nearly 200 bunkers...good luck girls, you will need it.

I apologize Jim C, I should have said she entered 20 events with 10 wins.

The biggest issue is that David Duval wasn't a multi millionaire when we was struggling to find that first win. There were no expectations on him, no team of "Duvalians" saying he was the next greatest thing, better give him $10 million bucks. He grinded to being number 1 in the world by winning. He did not become 2nd in the world rankings by losing every tournmanent and saying "I think I made some good shots out there, giggle". Wie is overrated, at the present time. She has not deserved any of the "extras" that other young golfers do not get, male or female. Once she becomes the youngest female to win on the lpga, maybe, once she wins 12 times in one year, maybe, once she pulls of the grand slam on the women's tour, maybe maybe then she can take a crack at a pga tour cut again, without being the side show she clearly is.

What will her fans say when she is 20 years old and still searching for her first win?

So you are going on record as pedicting 4 more inches and 0ver 30 pounds of muscle for Michelle? Never going to happen. Michelle's growth plates are shut down pal, she is well past her developmental years and as for the 30 pounds she is going to add, forget it with her wardrobe and girlie, girl makeup she will never allow such weight gain.

Michelle already has a massive distance advantage over 99% of the women on tour and one thing it has not brought her is a win. Consistently hitting the ball 350 is just a pipe dream.

Ford,

Do you have some privileged information about Michelle Wie that we don't? Females don't stop growing just because they've reached a certain age. It depends on when they started menstruation. Some females stop growing prior to menarche while others will grow 2-3 years after. I'm pretty sure that information is not a matter of public record.

I'm not going to say that Michelle Wie is going to grow in height, but I wouldn't go so far as to say she absolutely isn't going to grow further. She is afterall, only 16 years old.

The only way we could really determine if she's going to grow still is with x-rays to see if her bones have begun to fuse or not.

Arguing with one-putt is like arguing with your wife. It amounts to no good, as she/he don't listen/read, and are convinced that she/he is always right. I took note of the 20-win thing, but figured, why bother? I'll keep writing, though, and he'll keep countering.

Ford, Wie's driving average is closer to 265, only 10 or 15 yards greater than the average. The media will make u believe that for headline's sake. And we do know from Tiger's play at the Open that distance can amount to a lot of hogwash. .... now that may prove the point that Wie's top 5 finishes may be attributed to other parts of the game. Did you know she had fewer putts than Karrie Webb, Annika and Paula Creamer ...?

Golf is a complex mix of decision making, shot making, luck, weather, etc etc. You gotta be doing something right in order to consistently be at the top every tournament.

Let me add before the "dogs are let out" that the putt avg I was mentioning was at the Evian Masters last week. Phew!

BTW, Wiesy is currently 6'1, though some websites have her at 6'0. But then I found one that was so outdated, she was 5'11.

"Comment from: Ron Mon [Member]
Arguing with one-putt is like arguing with your wife. It amounts to no good, as she/he don't listen/read, and are convinced that she/he is always right. I took note of the 20-win thing, but figured, why bother? I'll keep writing, though, and he'll keep countering."

Ron you know I am your biggest fan. I like most of your stuff, but this one made made me wonder how you could associate a grown man with a young girl? Where is the link?

When the kids go back to high school they will write their essays about their summer vacation and what they accomplished. Most Seniors will talk about working at McDonalds or learning how to drive. Submitting applications for college or maybe some trips to an amusement park or going camping.

But Ron there is not a high school Senior on the planet that would believe what Michelle did with her summer vacation if the media didn't cover her exploits in such detail.

So do you agree Ron that Michelle put together one hell of a high school summer vacation, working her part time job as a professional golfer?

I wonder what David Duval accomplished the summer before his high school senior year? Maybe he got a driver's license?

Duval was probably dealing with his parents' separation, the fairly recent death of his brother (about five years), his intellectual development, and the Summer Junior and Amateur circuit. I believe he won the USGA Junior that year, too.

One-Putt, It looks like Bubbles will extend her summer vacation and her part-time job for at least two weeks. The school year at the Punahou school starts in the last week of August and Bubbles will be in France for a week and Pennsylvania for a week in the beginning of September. I've wondered about that for some time. Two of my grandchildren attend a similar type school and according to my daughter such absences would not be tolerated no matter what the excuse or who offered it.

"Comment from: Alex [Visitor] · http://Alex
One-Putt, It looks like Bubbles will extend her summer vacation and her part-time job for at least two weeks. The school year at the Punahou school starts in the last week of August and Bubbles will be in France for a week and Pennsylvania for a week in the beginning of September. I've wondered about that for some time. Two of my grandchildren attend a similar type school and according to my daughter such absences would not be tolerated no matter what the excuse or who offered it."

Punahou allows Michelle to miss two weeks per semester to play golf. Her schedule each year takes this into account and is planned around the school calendar Alex.

Michelle will have enough credits to graduate after this semester and is well on her way to a high school diploma, thus the application for early admission to Stanford.

Ask your daughter if the private school her children attend is owned and operated by the same group as Punahou? If not, she is basing her opinion on her circumstances and not what the administration at Punahou allows.

You may also ask her if the school has a correspondence program so a student could miss an entire semester of in-class study and graduate with their class? Paula and Morgan went this route if you remember and they attended private schools in Florida.

It is very kind of you and your daughter to so concerned with Michelle's welfare and education, but I don't think you need be concerned Alex. Michelle has use of the Nike jet to keep her on schedule for class.

If all else fails and golf gets in the way of Michelle getting her education, Nike will simply buy the school and adjust the schedule accordingly.

Phil is always looking for ways to diversify his portfolio and support his star athletes on payroll.

Jenney--You are right. I do not have access to Ms. Wie's medical records. One does need medical records to know that it is highly unlikely that she will grow 4 more inches and even if she does consistently hitting the ball 350 as Joe Cool said is never going to happen. As far as her gaining 30 pounds, my wife told me it isn't polite to comment on a women's weight in public. Nor will I comment on Michelle's menstruation cycle, but if you Wie fans would open your eyes and use common sense for once you would see that she is physically past her prime growth years.

I wonder how high David Duval made it in the rankings before he won his first PGA event. With numerous 2s and other top 5s I imagine it was fairly high.

One-Putt, Two weeks absence for golf will account for the Omega and the 84 Lumber. Where will the Casio and the Samsung fit in? Oh, I forgot. The private jet will take care of it. What snobbery! What elitism! Maybe this favoritism and pampering might have something to do with her winless status. But that's about to change this weekend. Don't you think so, One-Putt?

Comment from: Alex [Visitor] · http://Alex
One-Putt, Two weeks absence for golf will account for the Omega and the 84 Lumber.
Where will the Casio and the Samsung fit in? Oh, I forgot.
The private jet will take care of it.
What snobbery! What elitism! Maybe this favoritism and pampering might have something to do with her winless status. But that's about to change this weekend.
Don't you think so, One-Putt?
08/02/06 @ 09:06

OMG... What a complete ass you can be, Alex...

You have the gall and nerve to berate MW about Elitism and pampering and snobbery?


Let me get this straight.
Your poor daughter can afford to place her children in a private school?
Oh how nice that must be, makes all the rest of the great unwashed feel so good about their lack of ability to put their children in a decent school, let alone a private snob factory.
You are always twitting us about your elite place in society as a lawyer.
It's all about money, isn't it? You sound more like you are terminally jealous about what she has that
you didn't get.
I notice you don't say anything about Paula or Morgan. Paula got preferentila treatment on
airlines becuse her father was a pilot with American Airlines. She had private schooling. The rich and famous, lol.

Morgan was petted and pampered by a fawning set of grandparents ( rich grandparents)
who catered to her every whim including private school.


Elitism... Pure and simple. Pampering, pure and simple. Snobbery, pure and simple.

And you are as guilty as any of them. You are an elitist and a snob and I suspect a closet bigot

putt4par, My friend, you couldn't be more wrong about my personality and my priorities. You didn't mention that I am also a honorably discharged veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Do you have a problem with that part of my biography? I thought we weren't going to go for any personal attacks, especially unfounded attacks.

putt4par, I didn't mention Paula or Morgan because they weren't the subject of this blog. I leave the non sequiturs to the Wie Warriors.

Comment from: Alex [Visitor] · http://Alex
putt4par, I didn't mention Paula or Morgan because they weren't the subject of this blog. I leave the non sequiturs to the Wie Warriors.
08/02/06 @ 14:50
No, you didn't mention them because they didn't fit your argument of the moment. Most of your drival has little or nothing to do with what the blogs says.

As for being an honorably discharge member of the Marines, so what?

My Bro-in-law is also an honorably discharged marine and also one of the biggest @sholes in any neighborhood.

All of your arguments don't absolve you from being an elitist snob. An I'm still betting on you being a closet bigot too.

putt4par, I'm asking you as a fellow American and a fellow blogger trying to have a little entertainment, to please refrain from personal attacks and insults. I am not a bigot of any kind and I have no idea why you would have ever come to such a conclusion. But then, according to you, your brother-in-law is a marine and you think he is the biggest a--hole in the neighborhood. How tolerant of you, p4p. I wonder what your brother-in-law's opinion is of you.

putt4par, You seem to be losing your cool many times lately over these blogs. Don't take them so seriously ,my man. Your buddy, One-Putt had a spate of viciousness and animosity, but he seems to have gotten over it. Take it easy, old pal. You've got to keep that blood pressure down. And, please, for one final time, no more name-calling or personal attacks. Thank you.

Putt4par has a point. Alex many of the things you've said previous indicate that you are a total classist. You try to fall back on your credentials of being a lawyer, when clearly these things don't matter on a golf blog.

I think one of your previous attempts to insult me was accusing me of being an illegal alien, but then you changed your tact and said I was an uneducated American. You may or may not be a bigot, but you are a snob. Is that where you get your credibility on this issue? It takes one to know one?

Alex, when the Bro-in-laws whole family refers to him as that @shole, as do many of his former co-workers, I'd say that my opinion of him isn't far off the mark.
As for what he thinks of me, I really don't care. He knows what I think of him.
That being said, being an honorably discharged marine or a lawyer has nothing to do with these blogs. As Jenny M. said, you labled yourself as a classist and you also branded yourself the elitist with your label for MW and your comments attached to that post.
Your being a lawyer doesn't instill any good feelings in me either. The national opinion of lawyers rests right up there close to satan and his minions.
As for your being a bigot? I said I suspect you of being a closet bigot which is a far different thing from outright labeling you as a bigot.

I usually suspect you of being an idiot too but I let your constant barrage of baffle-gab speak to its own merits.

putt4par, I asked you in a nice way twice to lay off the name-calling and you respond with a repetition of closet bigot , whatever that is, and idiot. Well, you can't say I didn't try. Richard Cranium, the gloves are off!

Jenney M, I asked you what your educational credentials were because I found it hard to believe that a person with even an eighth grade education could be so ignorant. Notice, I didn't say stupid but that may also apply. I also was curious as to what country had made you persona non grata and had revoked your citizenship. I didn't change my tact, because it is bad form to be tactless. Is it possible that you, mistakenly of course, meant change my TACK? You know, Jen baby, TACK as in tacking with a sailing ship, not tack as in thumbtack. Now I realize that one doesn't have to be a moron to be a Wie Warrior, but it sure helps.

Tsk, tsk, Alex. I didn't call you any names. You obviously failed english as a second language.

I said I suspect you of being a closet bigot.. Far different than coming right out and naming you as such. Surely you as a much touted lawyer know the difference.

And as for saying you were/are an idiot.... Why golly gee gosh, I said I usually suspect it of you but I let you off easy by stating that I'd let your bilious babbling speak for itself. Did your regular litany of snide comments and barely veiled name calling suggest you are an idiot?

*sigh* do believe you are taking your prose seriously, old sock!

putt4par, At least you're becoming a slight bit more civil. Maybe the Zoloft is kicking in. I once knew a guy that had a similar lack of good sense as you. If brains were dynamite, he wouldn't have been able to blow his nose.

What were we arguing about again?

Alex,

That's rich. You're the one who's accusing me of being ignorant? And then you accuse someone else of name-calling. Sticks and stones old boy.

I meant exact TACT. It's a noun meaning
The ability to say and do the right thing at the right time. My use of the word involved sarcasm. I know you're well aware of sarcasm.

You can't even figure out how to post a comment without displaying a URL that is clearly not yours, even after I told you exactly what to do. Either you can't figure out something as simple as the delete key or you are intentionally misrepresenting yourself.

Ron Mon

Who are you again?

Jenney M, You're right. Tact, tack, tacit, what the hell is the difference? I knew what you meant. You just couldn't convey it. So what?

I think you're all a bunch of monkeys.

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