Despite the sentence that came after this one, I think you have a perspective problem. She’s a professional golfer, and having your game analyzed by columnists and people on message boards is one of the most minor things she has to put up with. Every pro athlete has his or her potential and achievements analyzed like this, including people Wie’s age. Younger athletes have reached the top of their respective sports, and it’s as fair to talk about their games as it is to talk about hers.
Out of curiousity, is the fact that she’s not playing a full schedule likely to be helping her consistency or hindering her overall play?
WRT the former, I could see a non-full schedule as possibly giving her more periods of physical and mental rest, and playing closer to her peak performance than someone who plays a greater number of tournaments. (Note: I know next to nothing about the physical rigors of golf or how “full” a full schedule is.)
WRT the latter, I could see a regular schedule helping her stay on course (no pun intended) keeping her in the zone, so to speak, in addition to simply giving her more playing time/experience overall.
Wrong.
With that behind us, Wie is one of the best women’s golfers out there. The reason she’s put down by some analysts/fans is that she seems to go for the splashy sideshow of playing in men’s tournaments instead of focusing on actually winning something in the women’s tour. If Sorenstam wants to play around and try her hand in a men’s tournament, she’s already done as much as anyone can expect to do in the women’s game. Wie hasn’t won squat as a pro.
It’s perfectly fine for her to play a limited schedule, but those men’s events are sure losers, she usually doesn’t even make the cut. I can’t say that losing all the time is going to ruin her career, but I don’t think that getting bounced time and again in men’s tournaments is helping her. If getting your ass kicked is going to help your game, why not pull out the old Mashie and Niblick to go along with that beyootiful persimmon driver? You’ll scramble around all day, miss the cut, and next week with your modern clubs will be a dream come true.
She has more potential to excel than anybody in golf since Tiger, perhaps even more than Tiger, but she hasn’t managed to win.
One thing that’s important to remember about golf is that the top ranks are so close in skill that on any given day there’s probably 50 players who can win a tournament. A lot comes down to luck and tiny mental errors. If one player’s ability is to land the ball ±15 ft from the pin from 75 yards, and another’s is to land it ± 10 feet from the pin, that still means on any given shot either player can be closer, even though one is a clearly better player.
Not only that, but golf is a game of minute adjustments and psychology. A top player can fall completely off his game due to a slight change in stance or stroke and have to work months to get back to where he was. Some fall off the horse and can never seem to climb back on. Look at Davis Love III and David Duval - Davis Love III finished 3rd in the money in 2003, and right now he’s 32nd. Duval fell even further - From 1997 to 2001 he was one of the best players in the world, and he finished first and second in the money for two years. Then in 2002 he fell to 80th, 212th in 2003, 210th in 2004, 260th in 2005, and so far he’s 145th in money this year. I think at one point he was even in danger of losing his exemption on the tour.
So guessing how well Michelle Wie will do over the next 20 years is a real guessing game. Right now she looks great. But for every Tiger who fulfills the potential he showed as a youngers, there are a lot more who falter along the way through quirks in personality, injury, bad coaching, life changes, or whatever.
How many majors had Tiger won at age 16?
The complaint, as I understand it, isn’t that she hasn’t won any majors. It’s that she hasn’t won anything.
Tiger was winning everything on the amateur circuit.
Tiger also had a dad that kept him very centred…
What’s with all the “she’s hot” comments?
She looks like a pubescent female Frankenstein who hasn’t grown into her feet.
Her mouth is too small for her rather large head, and when she talks, she kind of half sticks her tongue out through her teeth which makes her look like she has palsy. Her eyes seem a little crossed at times. Her chin is about the size of Jay Leno’s and her body is a plank with two halved-lemons stuck to it. Appearance-wise, Wie has nothing on Creamer or even Se Ri Pak.
However, she is still a VERY good golfer. She’s not idolized just because of her looks like Kournaova was. She hasn’t won anything big yet, but she is still 16. No way would a 16 year old Tiger Woods have finished 3rd in the US Open.
However, something has attracted attention to her. Creamer and Morgan Pressel have had more distinguished amateur careers; even still, you get that whiff of “greatness” from Wie that you don’t from Others.
Some have said she has the best swing in all of golf, including men. It is beautiful, IMO – perfect form at the ball, swing plane is not too high, not too low. She has a high, long follow through with a text book hip turn. It almost looks a combination of a Tiger power swing with a classic Ben Hogan swing.
The comparisons of Wie to Kournakova are unfair to Wie. I think that the more appropriate comparison would be to the hype surrounding, say, Lebron James.
I don’t follow golf enough to know much about her, but I hope she got paid well for doing this ridiculous advertisement for Oronamin C energy drinks in Japan. (the 15-second version is the first one listed, followed by the 30-second version)
The basic gist is that Aya Ueto (a model/actress of very modest talent) is giving Michelle tips on gestures to make after she swings that will give her good luck. She follows Aya’s advice during a match and sinks a difficult putt. And before anyone asks, perching on one leg while honking your imaginary friend’s breasts is not a typical gesture here.
Too late - already booked the flight.
I have to agree. I love Asian women, but Michelle is not hot, but maybe she’ll get better looking in her 20’s.
Since we’ve descended to talking about looks(!), like many sportswomen - and -men - she’s seen to much better advantage when she’s not wearing her visor and not got her hair tied back. In interviews she looks good and comes across good. When she starts talking about how she doesn’t know how to do any normal householdy things like boil an egg, you just want to, well, let her a hand.
But for a really cute Korean woman - woman, no girl - look no further than Se Ri Pak. So darned cute, I could eat her!
Yeah, that’s all true. But she’s still hot.
OK, let’s just say she photographs well for the quality of babe usually found on American sports page photos.