...and the wounded warrior is me.
I sometimes hate to admit it, but I'm still a huge Michelle Wie fan.
Yes, I know her 2007 season
Many of her fans jumped ship in 2007. It was a year of missed cuts and unseemly incidents, as the once promising Ms. Wie plunged into a downward spiral of staff resignations, dubious withdrawals and "tweaked" injuries. By the end of it, she was just going through the motions. Then she ducked out of site for a while amidst talk of an emotional breakdown.
But it's 2008. A new year and a new golf season have begun,and Michelle Wie is back in the news, playing this week in the LPGA Tour's Fields Open in Hawaii. Granted the coverage she's getting now is a far cry from what it was last year, as she prepared to take on the men at the Sony Open. But for the time being men's events have been put on the back burner and Michelle is playing on an xx exemption with a very elite field of women.
No one knows what to expect either. Many scoff at her return and question her ability to even make the cut. She's already said that her wrists are not 100%, adding that they'll probably never be like they were...before. Well, before was then, this is now, and I'm hoping like
I want Michelle back in the game because I love her star quality. OK I'm shallow and superficial and naive. So be it. Annika is an extraordinary player, a legend in her own time, but she leaves me cold. There, I said it. No more secrets.
The Golf Channel recently interviewed Wie at Stanford. The interview will be featured in three parts on "Golf Central'' Saturday (10:30 p.m.), Sunday (9 p.m.) and Monday (8:30 p.m.). and from what I've heard you'll be seeing a more mature more, thoughtful Michelle.
I, for one, wish her the best. After all, I'm a Wie Warrior.
Grrrr. I hope she lives up to at least part of her potential and finds a way to put this nonsense behind her - but that is going to take a lot of maturing on her part.
ReplyDeleteThe "resignations" last year were firings - HER choice.
The wrists are not "110%" (her words)(whatever the heck that's supposed to mean) - she's 18 years old and can't get healed up from a sprained wrist in a year ? quit whining and using this as an excuse. you can't say "it's 100%" at the start of a tournament, then start grabbing it when you can't break 80.
Tiger tore up his wrist in his early 20's hitting a ball out of the rough. Phil Mickelson did the same thing last year at the US Open. You didn't hear these guys making excuses a year later. Should we mention a 46 year old Steve Lowery who broke his wrist last year, missed half the season, RESTED and rehabed BEFORE coming back...? Oh yeah - he won at Pebble 2 weeks ago.
The "interviews" on xxx Golf Channel were run a in January when the LPGA was starting without her. They are 5 minutes each - she speaks less than 90 seconds in each one. About all I got from them was that she says "umm, like, y'know, I mean" a little less - but she had nothing to say. (possibly because the questions were beyond fluff)
Be a fan of Wie and pull for her - but "star quality" ??? She has the same "star quality" as Paris Hilton. Famous for being famous. Putting her on a pedestal like this doesn't help. She has a LOT of growing up to do - and a LOT of golf to learn and play.
Hi G.G
ReplyDeleteI can appreciate what this young teen has gone through over the past year. She is not a bad person, but what I read is some of the golf blogs you’d think she was hanging out with the likes of Osama bin Laden or the Hell Angles. I like to keep things in perspective. Ever since she was 14 years old her life has been run like the big corporation like Enron. When it crashed, the whole golf world dumped on her, her parents and handlers made some bad choices and now she has to live with the spoils. Not too many teens could have handled the abuse and scrutiny she has gone through over the past year. Give her a break guys. If she was my daughter I would be very proud of her.
It's hard to explain what I mean by star quality and I agree that at this point it would be easy to see her as no more than an undeserving, famous for being famous, Paris Hilton type. But that's forgetting the Michelle Wie of 4-5 years ago. The one with the amazingly beautiful and lyrical swing and the promise of such potential. Yes it was all hyped up and packaged too quickly. However if she were to start playing well again...and remember she did play well at one point...I think everyone would remember why we hyped her up so much. We would again see that intangible "star quality" thing she has. I'm pretty sure all she'd have to do is play fairly well and she'd be all anyone would be talking about. Just MHO.
ReplyDeleteGolf Girl: She apparently played pretty well today, a 69. It's a start.
ReplyDeleteIf B.J. can stay out of it she has a decent chance of a come back but I don't think he can.
ReplyDeleteWell said Golf Girl! You know, I never stopped being a Michelle Wie fan. It's her parents I can't stand! I wish she'd become her own person and not let them live vicariously through her.
ReplyDeleteAnnika cold? Yes...I can see how you would say that. I feel the same about Tiger. I wonder if she models herself after him.
Anyway, I'm cheering for Michelle this weekend as well. I hope she proves she's still got game.
Golfgal
www.golfgal-blog.com
Wie's parents and "handlers" stole her latter childhood and adolescence from her. I hope she plays well and displays the obvious talent she has been blessed with. No reason to resent a person that's still at her tender age. Regarding her being interviewed or the way she comes across, she doesn't watch Jeopardy. I'm sure she's smart, she's at Stanford, but that doesn't always translate into being well spoken. Still, wait and judge her as an adult.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Annika, I love her accomplishments and the way she represents the game. All pure class. I think she seems icy because she's shy. No more, no less. She's made numerous behind the scenes contributions that most will never be aware of because she wants it that way.
B.
"Wie's parents and "handlers" stole her latter childhood and adolescence from her." Ah yes - I clearly recall Boo and BJ taking the shackles off of poor little Michelle at the age of 13 attempting to qualify for the Sony...and all the other attempts. And don't forget the armed guards "escorting" her to the airport and handcuffing her to her seat to go to the mainland, and Europe...and Asia...to tee it up in professional tournaments. And it must've been edited film when she said, at the age of 16, that SHE was the one making the decisions - including firing several caddies.
ReplyDelete"I'm sure she's smart, she's at Stanford" - Wie is a LEGACY at Stanford thanks to highly intelligent relatives...plus her huge bank account and a high profile personality...but mostly a legacy.
About Annika - Bob - you are pretty much right on it. She was very shy and has said that she pretty much threw away tournaments she could've won her first year or two on Tour because she was afraid of the winner's circle attention. She has worked very hard to overcome that fear. The icy figure on the golf course, however, is exactly what it appears. She is locked into playing the game while on the course - not waving to the crowd and posing for pictures. She is there to win - call it an icy personality if you like - but on the course and off the course are not the same. I'd bet that there are differences in all of our personalities between work and home.
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