Wie Back with the Men
Her on again, off again flip-flop of joining the men then withdrawing and then joining again act is getting old. Today, Michelle Wie’s camp announced that she will join the men at the John Deere Classic on July 12. Even worse than the flip-floping is her record on the ladies tour, a big zero in the win column. I tend to side with Michael Wilbon on this one, Michelle should stick to winning on the LPGA Tour first before thinking she has a chance on the men’s tour.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for women playing with the men. But they should earn their way onto the tour just like everyone else. The problem is that you have literally thousands of pros who battle and claw their way through the Hooters Tour, Canadian Tour, Nationwide Tour, and finally PGA Q-school to E-A-R-N their tour card. I know that she isn’t taking one of those spots away, but still, here comes this 17-year-old hotshot that hasn’t won anything get a sponsor exemption, don’t tell me you won’t be pissed if you were Ryuji Imada who spent five years after college qualifying for the PGA. I have no problems with sponsor exemptions going to guys like John Daly for example. Maybe he isn’t any good anymore, but at least he’s paid his dues, he’s won on the big boy tour. I understand that tournament directors need to sell tickets, and networks need to attract viewers, and that is why they’ve invited her, but this is getting ridiculous. She has NEVER made the cut of any men’s event she’s entered. They might as well invite Natalie Gulbis as far as I’m concerned.
Michelle is still young though. She still has plenty of time to fire her father (BJ) and finally get some proper advice and start winning LPGA titles like she is suppose to. We’ve heard this story before, child prodigy pushed too far too early, falls flat on face and relapses into drug abuse and alcoholism, only to come back more mature and ready after canning over-protective father; ala Jennifer Capriati.
Come July, I know where I can find Michelle’s name on the leaderboard, dead last. I’m out…
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