Yes, I'm back to the blog after several months of silence. It's not due to the lack of topics to discuss - it's mainly due to the work and travel schedule. August is also an extremely busy month for me, so this may be the last you hear from me for a little while as well.
Anyhow, Sistah T's topic of the day? Michelle Wie... and her lack of common sense.
Most of you who know me well have seen me get up on my soapbox about this. I have said it from the first time she came out on the LPGA circuit: this girl is NOT about the golf. This girl is all about the fame. Her appearance supports this - what female (or male, for that matter... I guess this is 2008) golfer wears hoop earrings as big as her face while she is golfing?! I'm not saying that golfers can't be fashionable, but good gravy, be practical.
Wie has repeatedly stated that she wants to play with the men and beat them at their own game. Let me get things straight here.
What Sistah T has no problems with:
1) Younger women getting their tour card and playing on the LPGA tour (assuming that they're good enough).
2) Women playing a few tournaments on the men's PGA tour.
What Sistah T DOES have problems with:
1) Younger women trying to make a quick buck or getting their 15 minutes of fame on the LPGA tour.
2) Women who can't even win an LPGA major wanting to play in men's tournaments.
Unfortunately for Michelle Wie, she has committed both of the two latter crimes. I think it's about time for her to ask herself what the point is - why is she doing all this? It's not for the golf, I'll tell you that right now. It's for the FAME and attention.
Let's look at the facts, shall we?
1) Wie has never won a major on the LPGA tour, nor has she ever won a single LPGA event. In fact, she is not even a member of the LPGA tour - she gets by on qualification rounds and/or sponsor exemptions.
2) Wie has missed the cut in all eight of the PGA events she has entered.
3) Wie has been disqualified from at least two tourneys for signing an incomplete/incorrect scorecard.
Do I think Michelle Wie is talented for her age? Most definitely (although her short game needs some work). Do I think Michelle Wie is capable of having a career? Sure. Do I think Michelle Wie could play with the men? Maybe eventually - but her game is certainly not up to par (no pun intended) right now.
Who is helping her with these career decisions? Who has been giving this girl the wrong advice?
In several interviews, Michelle Wie has stated that she "just wants to have fun." Of course she wants to have fun - she's only 18. But golf is a career - it is much more than just having fun. And it won't be fun anymore when she is 28 and still hasn't won anything. She won't be the cute teen who stalks around on the course with the preppy outfits. Unless she really turns her career around, ten years from now she'll be a has-been and no one will remember her. It's a big issue that I believe a lot of youngsters face - they see all of the fame that "superstar" entertainers and athletes receive, but they don't see any of the hard work that gets these people where they are.
Another point to prove that she is incapable of making smart decisions: she recently decided to play in the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open (a men's event) instead of qualifying for the LPGA Women's British Open. It became another cut she failed to make, and another chance that she missed to win an LPGA major - what a lose-lose situation. Not only that, the top 50 men on the PGA tour weren't even at the Reno-Tahoe tourney - they were all playing at the Bridgestone WGC event this week. She can't even play with the mediocre men. Where are this girl's priorities??
Regarding the criticism she was bound to receive for making this decision (and she did get plenty of it from several commentators and LPGA players), Michelle had this to say: "People are going to write hateful stuff about me and that's fine with me. ... Good rounds and low scores can solve everything."
Oh really? It would help if you had a few good rounds and low scores then. Before you card a few low scores, you've pretty much made yourself a target for criticism.
You want to prove you can play with the men? Do it like Annika Sorenstam - prove that you're dominant on the women's tour first. Go ahead and use the men's tournaments to stretch yourself once you've won a few tournaments or even a few majors on the LPGA side. But don't fool yourself when it comes to your abilities or lack thereof. If you think you're the best, you'd better have the skills and the trophies to back it up.
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2 comments:
I completely agree with you Mary Ann. I wish her the best and hope her career advances because she is so talented at a young age. BUT, if she is in it for the fame, she's not doing a good job of earning any fame. At her age, even getting top 10 or top 5 finishes in LPGA events would earn her more fame. She could be the best female golfer...ever...if she would just concentrate on playing against the females now, and as you've stated, she can then play against (and possibly beat) the men later when she's in the prime of her golf career.
I'm with you there, Matt - she's definitely full of talent, but she's certainly a failure in the fame department. Unless she gets her act together in terms of golf, I doubt we'll even be talking about her 10 years from now...
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