Golf Talk

Michelle says only LPGA in 2008.

After all the flak that has she has been getting over the past year, it appears that Michelle Wie has actually learned from her mistakes and is turning the corner to perhaps living up to the potential that pegged her as the next best thing in women’s golf. Michelle Wie, or her parents, or agent, or swing coach, or whomever is speaking for her these days has acknowledged that Michelle will not be playing with the men in 2008.

I actually think that Michelle and her parents got a lot of pressure from her corporate sponsors to not enter men’s tournaments for 2008 and try to win some tournaments on the Ladies Tour instead. 2007 was a disaster from a public relations standpoint. Lets recap the carnage, Michelle withdrew from the Ginn Classic hosted by Annika, citing her ailing wrist, then was seen practicing early just a day after at the US Open. This caused Annika, lady duke of golf of all people, to publicly call out Michelle for the lack of respect. Not to mention the fact that Michelle was trying to avoid posting a double snowman and thus being kicked off the Tour for one year. Then there were the various disasterous finishes and missed cuts. Just a couple of months ago in October, Michelle finished dead last in a field of 25.

I’m certain that if it was up to Michelle and her overbearing parents, she would be playing with the men in 2008. But when Nike and Sony are paying her upwards of $20 million dollars, it’s clear who holds the upper hand in that relationship. 2007 was so bad, that Michelle’s corporate sponsors cannot afford another disastrous year like that, especially considering the money they are paying her.

Will it make any difference? I’m not certain it will. Michelle’s confidence in golf is so shot at this moment, I’m not sure it will ever recover fully. She’s never been fully in control of her life, it almost seems like losing is her way of defying her parents. It’s a defense mechanism. If she wins, the harder they will push, the more pressure she has to deal with. If she loses, she can always blame an injury, or something else.

Michelle Wie, LPGA

Michelle Wie is once again the richest woman in golf.

What would a month be without the obligatory Michelle Wie news insert. A report from Forbes Magazine states that Michelle Wie made the top 20 richest people in the world under 25. Michelle comes in at number four, with a cool $19 million. Michelle was barely beaten by tennis superstar Maria Sharapova.

Obviously, all $19 million dollars came from her endorsements as Michelle not only did not win a single tournament this season, struggled to finish most tournaments or make the cut. Chief among Michelle’s sponsors include NIKE and Sony. If I am any of her sponsors, I can’t be happy right now with the way Michelle has played. After shelling out millions of dollars, they have barely anything to show for. What does the Michelle Wie brand have to offer that is worth any value at all? She quits, she lies, and she generally is a crybaby. Those are great values to promote, that is a brand I want my product on. The face of Michelle Wie is NIKE and Sony, companies that quit when things go bad, lie to their customers, and complain to anyone who would listen.

You can easily see why all the other ladies on tour resent Michelle. She is by far the richest person playing on the LPGA and she has earned exactly none of it. There are ladies out there that are going gangbusters trying to secure enough money so they can eat and sleep in a bed and probably have just as much ability as Michelle. The money is out there, but it’s being spent in all the wrong places. Then you have the veterans, like Annika Sorenstam who have paved the way for players like Michelle. It probably took Annika 10 or 15 years to make as much money as Michelle has made in one year, and yet Michelle walks around as if she can do whatever the hell she wants to.

Michelle may have all the money, but she’ll never have the respect until she starts to prove it on the course.

Michelle Wie

Pepper popping off again, this time about Michelle Wie’s parents.

Seems to be the popular thing to do these days as a golf commentator. Both Nick Faldo and Dottie Pepper decided to take their shots at Colin Montgomerie and Michelle Wie respectively this past week. None provided any real revelation, but still, it was amusing to watch these has-beens run their mouths. Both Nick and Dottie have been known to be brutally honest, Dottie most recently with her Chocking Freakin’ Dogs statement at the Solheim Cup.

Lets start with good old Nick. Jolly old Nick in answering questions with the media as the 2008 Ryder Cup captain said that Colin Montgomerie was too emotional and that he’s looking for great putters, of which Monty apparently isn’t. We all know that Monty wears his emotions on his sleeve, but for Nick to openly call him out on it and single his emotion as the single reason why he won’t be picking Monty is a little far-reaching. Monty has been a great Ryder Cup player in the past, and why you wouldn’t choose him should he stay in the top 50 players is beyond me (I’m fully aware of the fact that Monty has slipped to the low 70’s in the world right now). Anyways, I don’t think you discard someone just because they play with emotion, I actually think it’s the opposite, in that kind of pressure-charged environment, you definitely want someone who plays with emotion.

As for Dottie Pepper?? Her proclamation that Michelle Wie’s parents are evil and destroying her life are hardly new developments, talk about stating the obvious. Just how this story plays out is still to be determined, but it’s not looking good so far. Let’s just hope Michelle doesn’t end up like Britney Spears.

Dottie Pepper, Nick Faldo, Michelle Wie, Colin Montgomerie

The PGA Tour sure has its perks.

It was actually a pretty busy weekend in golf in case you missed it. Lorena Ochoa wraps up another win besting the small field of twenty to take the Samsung. Ernie Els won his seventh World Match Play Championship. Finally, a rookie, George McNeill wins the Frys.com or better known as Las Vegas Open on Sunday.

First up, the Samsung. Lorena Ochoa continued her dominance on the LPGA Tour by winning with a 6-under 66 in her final round, 4-shots clear of second place, Mi Hyun Kim. With the win, Lorena clinches back to back Player of the Year honors. Is there any doubt now that Lorena has springboarded herself to the top of the totem pole? Does anyone really think Annika can come back to her pre-injury form to challenge Lorena? At 25, Lorena has at least 10 years of peak performance to look foward to. There are some good challengers from the US and Korea, but I think week in and week out, Lorena is far ahead of any of her competitors right now.

Ernie Els wins the World Match Play Championship beating Angel Cabrera 6 to 4. The best part of the story was Ernie rushing back to his private jet to catch the Rugby World Cup match between South Africa and Argentina. How much of a coincidence is that, both players from both countries happen to face each other while their mates from the same countries duke it out in Rugby.

Rookie, George McNeill, won his first PGA Tour event on Sunday winning the Frys.com Las Vegas Open. The story is always the same, rookie wins, glad to not go through Q school. Not to mention the nice $720,000 cheque. George, don’t blow it all on one hand of roulette.

Finally, what would a post be without a mandatory Michelle Wie bashing. Apparently, her agent, Greg Nared has left his job. I guess attempting to run interference for the worst parents in sports history was too much despite the fat commission cheques. Oh well, Michelle and Co. will find some other lacky to abuse. Good night now…

LPGA Tour, Samsung, Ernie Els, George McNeill

Rough tournament, rough year for Michelle.

The controversy surrounding Michelle Wie continues to stir after another dreadful round on the course on Thursday. The same day as her eighteenth birthday, Michelle shot a 7-over 79, 3 shots worse than Bettina Hauert and good for last place. Granted there are only twenty competitors in the field, but Michelle is taking her game to the next level, the wrong way.

Earlier in the week, Michelle made the comment that, “The only thing that I would do differently (is) I wouldn’t have played this year. It’s as simple as that. The only thing that I did wrong this year is that I did not take my injuries as seriously as I should have.” Yet, after Annika Sorenstam turned down the exemption this week to play, Wie jumped at the opportunity to play here saying, “I just feel like a cleaner, healthier person.” Well after her first round debacle, and her second round isn’t looking too pretty right now either, Michelle can’t even take her own advice. She says she regrets playing at all this year, but she takes the sponsor exempt and continues to play. How can you sympathize with her situation? She has done this too herself. Some may say I’m being harsh, but it’s the truth.

It’s a good thing Michelle is going to college, because it doesn’t appear the golf gig is turning out so good. She seems to be taking in the classes pretty well, we’ll see how well she gets through exam week, or maybe she’ll weasel her way out of it and cry home back to daddy.

LPGA Tour, Longs Drugs Challenge, Suzann Pettersen, Lorena Ochoa

With all the bashing she gets on this side of the world, it seems Michelle is a huge hit in her native Korea. About 20 giddy (and what appear to be very horny) Korean dudes gawk as Michelle owns it in some weird Iron Chef style mini-golf competition. I love how all the guys are staring at her ass with their mouths open and drool coming out. Gotta good look there buddy?? I mean, Michelle is a hottie and all, but that is too damn obvious. Anyways, enjoy the clip, I know I did…

Michelle Wie, Korean show, funnies

Michelle Wie and her entourage arrived on campus and according to the AP, she played a round at the university course on Monday. Imagine being a coed and seeing something like this take over your campus,

According to the report, she is living in a dormitory on campus and is reporting for classes this week. But daddy isn’t too far away renting a house nearby.

Somehow, I think Michelle is going to cry to daddy after a week in co-ed rez,

And finally, Michelle has a host of fun coed events to look forward to. For example, college life is nothing if not for the ritual body-painting session on tailgate Saturday,

My picks for the Turning Stone Championship later today…

Michelle Wie, Stanford

For Lorena, it was all about holding serve and she did that quite nicely on Friday. Nothing spectacular, but she played the tough course conditions as well as she could, perhaps a little defensive at times, but she didn’t make any major mistakes to shoot an even-par round for a 6-under total. She is one ahead of Wendy Ward and Catriona Matthew at the moment. I think with the course is setup, 8 or 9-under should be enough to win it which means there’s plenty of work remaining. Good Luck Lorena…

Other contenders, Annika is 3-back, though I don’t think she’ll catch the leaders.

As for Michelle Wie, she blew up today and shot an 80 round and missed the cut.

LPGA Tour, Women’s British Open, Lorena Ochoa, Wendy Ward, Catriona Matthew

It was at all surprising to see Lorena Ochoa jump out to an early 2-shot lead at the Women’s British Open after her 6-under first round. After all, she is the number one player in the world. The big question everyone is asking, is whether she can keep it. We’ll have to wait three more rounds to get that answer.

I didn’t see any other names among the leaders that jumped out other than Brittany Lincicome at 2-under and Annika Sorenstam at 1-under. Brittany has made a habit of playing well on Wed only to falter in the latter rounds, lets see if she can buck that trend.

Michelle Wie managed an even-par round, so did Natalie Gulbis and Paula Creamer.

LPGA Tour, Women’s British Open, Lorena Ochoa, Annika Sorenstam, Brittany Lincicome

The Women’s British Open starts tomorrow at Royal St. Andrews in Scotland. And since it is a major, I think it’s worth at least a dedicated preview post here, no? My gut tells me that the general public is rooting for a second straight Natalie Gulbis victory, I know I am, funky swing and all. But all the heavy hitters will be there and it will be a tough field to crack. Let’s take a look at this stacked field.

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As I predicted yesterday, Vijay Singh continued his strong play through to today and if it weren’t for a couple of bad holes on 17 and 18, would’ve had a sizeable lead going into final round Sunday. I have to say though, Vijay got extremely lucky with his tee shot on 11, it hit the rocks near the water twice before bouncing back onto the first cut of the rough.

Other strong play included Hunter Mahan who bounced back after a terrible second round. The second round leaders, Steve Allan and John Mallinger played well, but not well enough to win this thing. Jim Furyk is dangerous, sitting at 9-under and only 3-back, I’d be worried about him.

Mike Weir had a solid third round, he’s too far away to win, but his 4-under round today was good enough for him to tie Stephen Ames for top Canuck.

A little controversy after the round when players were criticizing tournament officials for the super-soft greens and odd hole locations to compensate. I have to concur.

Tomorrow will be good to watch, if it comes down to Vij and Jim, it’ll be wire-to-wire.

I apologize for the lack of Evian Masters updates as I simply haven’t watched any coverage or highlights. I’m liking the way Annika is playing though. A quick scan of the leaderboard and I saw some horrendous scores, Michelle Wie shoots +12, Suzann Pettersen +9, Brittany Lincicome +10, ouch…

PGA Tour, Canadian Open, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, Evian Masters, Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie

It’s pretty late and I have an early tee time tomorrow so this update will be short and sweet. Vijay Singh methodically worked his way up the leaderboard, he’s just 1 behind the leaders who are a couple of journeymen. It certainly looks good for Vij right now for the Canadian Open.

Mike Weir was lucky to make the cut, and no, I don’t think he’ll make any charge on the weekend. Camilo Villegas and Mark Calcavecchia are doing pretty good so my pool is doing OK.

Didn’t watch any coverage or highlights of the Evian Masters, but I hear that Annika Sorenstam was the big mover of the day. Michelle Wie broke par since forever and made the cut as well.

Anyways, talk to y’all tomorrow…

PGA Tour, Canadian Open, Vijay Singh, Evian Masters, Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie

Shooting a Canadian Open record 62 on the first day of action, Hunter Mahan got the best of Angus Glen with a 9-under par round to lead all scores. Meanwhile at the Evian Masters, it’s a three way tie between Patty Hurst, Brittany Lincicome and Eun-hee Ji. Jump on the link for more details.

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After a horrendous first-round 82 where she said that she was just as close to shooting 69 as 82, Michelle Wie decided to call it quits on her 8th hole during her second round on Saturday at the Women’s US Open.

Nothing really surprises anymore when it comes to Michelle Wie. Is her wrist really hurt? Maybe. Could it be more to do with her 17-over par and 146th out of 155th place? Maybe.

So, where does Michelle go from here? Not really sure. But she won’t be contending at any tournaments anytime soon, that’s for sure.

Michelle Wie, Women’s US Open

Today was crazy for deadlines so I’ll keep this short with my thoughts.

Women’s US Open

Wacky crazy day. Lorena Ochoa is in contention, Angela Park leads. Michelle Wie shoots 82, but the real shocker of the day was Karrie Webb and her 83, wow.

They didn’t finish the first round, there was a 3.5 hour delay but no rain, then darkness. They’ll start at 7:30am tomorrow to try to get back on track.

Buick Open

Rocco Mediate has the lead at 8-under. Jim Furyk and Scott Verplank are not far off at 6-under, tied for fifth. My pool picks are looking good.

Love the 17th hole, I can’t wait for someone to nail a hole-in-one and win the Buick Lucerne they have sitting in that pond there. Just a beautiful hole.

PGA Tour, Buick Open, Rocco Mediate, Jim Furyk, LPGA Tour, Women’s US Open, Angela, Park, Lorena Ochoa