Natalie Gulbis vs. Michelle Wie: Selling your body obviously better than selling out your game

It is an odd world we live in when Michelle Wie takes so much more grief from the general public than Natalie Gulbis does. Both are winless. Both are hyped with an intensity normally only seen when McDonald’s releases a new product. But one gets a much easier ride than the other.

Wie, who has spent the last year acquiring detractors faster than George Allen, was recently taken to task for comments she made when announcing that she’d accepted a sponsor’s exemption to the PGA’s Sony Open.

“I like exemptions. It’s like somebody says, ‘Here, you can have $100,’ or I can work for $100,” Wie said.

Her detractors were quick to jump on that statement – “Very unsettling that Michelle doesn’t understand the importance of having a strong work ethic or the notion of paying your dues,” wrote one WorldGolf.com reader.

Now, while Wie had some serious success - sans winning - on the LPGA Tour in 2006, her attempts at playing with the men gradually got worse to the point that one had to wonder what her father, B.J., and her management team were thinking. It has been starting to look way too much as though the 17-year-old wunderkind and team are selling out her name and game, rather than pursuing some type of career plan.

Nonetheless, how does that compare to Gulbis, who, far from being vilified for the selling of her body in yearly bikini calendars, is rejoiced as some type of hero by many, including ESPN?

“The 23-year-old Sacramento, Calif., native has been on our radar for quite some time. Not only is she a rising star on the LPGA Tour – while she’s still searching for her first tournament win, she’s 15th on the money list this year with over $675,000 in winnings – she has all the makings of the next Page 2 Hottest Female Athlete,” glowingly wrote ESPN’s Mary Buckheit.

So, while Wie, who made more than $700,000 in far fewer events than Gulbis in 2006, is hammered by those questioning why she is continuing to accept sponsor’s exemptions, Gulbis is paraded on ESPN’s Page 2 in all her breast-thrusting glory, and lobbed softballs.

“Have you ever cried watching “Extreme Makeover, Home Edition"? Be honest.”

“Like Anna (Kournikova) and Jessica (Simpson), you too have your own style. Tell me about golf course chic.”

“If you were a rock star, what would you wear on stage?”

“Do you think you’re a sex symbol?”

There should be little doubt by now that Wie is some strange hybrid of golfing talent and corporate sell-out. At 17, her accomplishments on the LPGA Tour are unprecedented.

But her handlers’ willingness to thrust her into the spotlight against the PGA’s best is becoming both annoying due to her lack of success, and dangerous to her own game and mental health. Team Wie is taking the chance that: 1) They are creating golf’s overexposed version of J-Lo and; 2) their star will go into complete mental burn-out mode by age 20.

Nonetheless, should Gulbis be trumpeted while Wie trashed? Gulbis has flirted with LPGA victory, but at age 23 and with a career more notable for her body and reality show, she’s as much on her way to a future in softcore porn films as she is to golf greatness.

This isn’t a condemnation of either Wie or Gulbis, who will continue to follow their own roads. Plus, both will likely have their coveted LPGA victories sooner rather than later.

It does say something about many fans and many in the media, however: It’s better to sell your body than sell out your game.

Natalie Gulbis proving it’s better to show skin than show disrespect for the game.

–WKW