Hawaii, Wie, Fujikawa, PGA Tour: Ruminations on a theme

The floodgates have opened, the scribes have sharpened their pencils and keyboards, and the rain continues to fall in Binghamton. Not more than ten miles from what I considered 2006’s “unkindest cut of all,” with deference to my colleague, I ruminate, ponder, meditate, cogitate, and deliberate on what Tadd Fujikawa and Michelle Wie’s performances over the last two days and four years, respectively, represent to the golf world.

Tadd Fujikawa suceeded at age 16 where Michelle Wie failed at age 14 (I may be wrong). When he needed an extremely clutch performance, he came through. Although he had two bogeys on his final nine, he countered with two birds and that glorious eagle. Pair that with two birdies on the front, and you recognize a recipe for success. Michelle Wie’s injury must be greater than anticipated, as she was done in by 14 bogeys and two doubles over her two days at Waialae. That or her mental stability is so, well, unstable, that she cannot summon much of anything when the chips are even or down. No, she wasn’t going to make the cut after that 78, but a 68 in round two, identical to 2006, seemed reasonable when she birdie hole number one on Friday. She also closed with a birdie, but had even bogeys and pars for the other 16 holes.

Is it time for “Sideshow Wie” to take a break from the PGA Tour? Yes. Is it time for Michelle Wie to recuperate from injury, return to a semblance of a teenaged life? Yes. Is it time for Tadd Fujikawa to bask in the glow of a fortunate performance? Yes.

Michelle Wie has given us a great deal to write about these last four years. Perhaps she will do so again, for the right reasons. Perhaps we will write about her performances at the Women’s Open, the Women’s British, the LPGA and the Nabisco. We will not cover her at the US Women’s Am, the Curtis Cup, nor these last few US Junior Ams.

Imagine if she had tried to qualify for the Boys Junior Am last year, or the year before, prior to turning pro, and gone deep into the match play rounds. I think that she might have done it. Now that would have been something to build on. As always, hindsight is better than foresight.