I’ve been reading about Ashleigh Simon and once interviewed her in South Africa for a story. We sat on a verandah in the hot African sun drinking iced tea, after a round at Glendower Golf Club, one of South Africa’s top courses.

She’s sort of that country’s version of Michelle Wie, and she told me then, about two years ago, she wasn’t very interested in playing in men’s tournaments.

“I like playing with men in exhibitions, but not competitively,” Simon said. “I feel women should compete against each other and the men should do the same.”

She’s reiterated that since turning pro in May.

She did play in a men’s event when she was 14, but it was a lark, she says, nothing serious.

She got a special invitation to play with 74 men on a South Africa tour event at Leopard Creek, the top-ranked course in the country, according to Golf Digest.

Simon finished dead last.

Still, South African golf writer Michael Vlismas called her “possibly the greatest female golf talent ever to emerge from these shores.”

There’s that word again – “possibly.”

In a sense, Wie could be acting as a cautionary tale for other bright, young prospects.

The only problem: Simon also has Nike as a corporate sponsor. I hope she gets different Nike weasels on her entourage than Wie.

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