Oh No! Not Again!

Filed in archive Golf News on May 24, 2007

For heaven's sake, when will the Wies learn?

According to The Golf Channel, Michelle Wie, who has been sidelined with wrist injuries since last January, has decided to try - yet again - to make the cut in a PGA event.

Wie has accepted an invitation to play in the john deere Classic in late July, for the fourth year in a row.

It's astonishing how stupid one family can be.

Let's put this in perspective. Michelle Wie has plenty of talent to be a major winner on the LPGA Tour before she turns 20 (she will be 18 this fall).

She hasn't finished high school yet. She hasn't cut her teeth in tournament play yet. She hasn't won anything yet.

She has potential but she tries to run before she can walk. And her parents encourage it.

Just last month, her swing coach, David Leadbetter announced that Michelle would not be trying to make the cut in any more PGA events. Rather, he said, she would focus on the LPGA Tour. Finally, someone was getting through to the Wie family at last.

But ominously silent was her father who is the push behind her career, by all reports.

Certainly, Michelle herself had no comment - but she doesn't control the shots.

And now comes word that she will try the PGA route again.

Organizers of the John Deere are very excited, of course; Wie sells tickets and that's what they care about, as they should.

Wie herself says "I'm really happy to be returning to the John Deere Classic; the people of the Quad Cities have supported me and rooted for me like no other".

But it's a farce, plain and simple and Michelle Wie is blind to it, thanks to her father's twisted vision for his daughter.

She missed the cut at the Sony Open in January by 14 shots. Late last year, she finished last in consecutive weeks on both the European and PGA Tours. In her last 16 rounds, Wie has failed to break 70, including in two LPGA events.

So where does she choose to resume and rebuild her shaky neophyte professional career?

It's like learning to drive a car in the midst of the Indy 500.