Michelle Wie’s Got Next

After Michelle Wie narrowly missed making history at the John Deere Classic last week, she has become somewhat of a polarizing topic in the sports world. The majority of people seem to stand on the "she's too young to keep doing this and its going to ruin her" side, leaving the short end of the stick to the "she's not going to be great, she already is" people.

Usually, it makes more sense to side with the majority, because its easier than having to think for yourself, but I decided to head to the U.S. Amateur Public Links at Shaker Run Golf Club in Lebanon, Ohio and find out if she was real.

Wie is the first woman to qualify for the Publinx, whose winner is invited to the Masters every year. Being my first time as a golf spectator, I wasn't sure what to expect. Traditionally, I was told, galleries during the week at this tournament consist merely of friends and immediate family, and usually balloon up to around 100 for the final couple of days.

As I arrived to the course, I was surprised to see only about 150 milling around the tee box. I checked my watch — it was only 10 minutes before she was supposed to tee-off. I started worrying, was I at the wrong course, did I have her time wrong?

I then heard a low rumble and as I turned around, I saw Wie with her parents, two police officers, her caddy, two other players and caddies, and about a dozen other tournament officials, all walking over from the practice range. About 20 yards behind the group was the answer to my question as around 800 people flowed across the parking lot and swarmed around the first tee box. If there were 1,200 spectators there, about 1,170 were in Wie's gallery and the other 30 people were lost.

I tried unsuccessfully to imagine the pressure of playing on a near-empty course with 1,000 people following your around, as my golf game usually wilts under the pressure of the group behind me waiting on me at the tee-box. Wie out-drove both men she was playing with on the first tee as she blasted her shot nearly 310 yards. So she could drive, but how was the rest of her game?

Her short game was on target most of the day and the only weakness she really showed in her game was her putting. She narrowly missed three or four putts early, each one receiving and agonizing groan from the crowd. She seemed to handle pressure well as the crowd only helped her performance and she wasn't easily shaken, even when she had a baby screaming while she was trying to putt on 12 (while the baby got the most death stares from elderly folk in the crowd, I think those stares should have been reserved for the jackass whose cell phone kept ringing and the guy who brandished a disposable camera and took a picture, with a flash, of Wie during a drive).

As I was herded around the course that morning, it was interesting to hear the other fans talk about her.

"She's going to blow up the PGA."
"In three years, it will be all her."
"I just don't get it, what is she doing that I'm not?" (I bit my tongue on this, but I wanted to interject with a "playing golf the right way, for one.")
"She could sleep on a pile of money at night."
"I heard she's gonna sign a Nike deal for $80 million."

And then, of course, there were stupid people there that day, too.

"I bet you anything she's on steroids, Asian people are naturally small." (I thought I should clarify this statement, the man who said it look remarkably like one of the redneck fan extras in Happy Gilmore, and was slightly less intelligent than the umbrella he was carrying.)

Side rant: while most of the comments made were respectful, I did her a few over-the-top statements, usually setup like this:

Man 1 (Who looks old enough that I would have believed him if he started talking about the round he played with Abe Lincoln): "You know how you can tell these players are amateurs? Because they are wearing shorts."

Man 2 (Middle-aged, oaf-like character): Eyes fixated on her backside as Michelle bends over to pick her ball up out of the hole: "I hope she stays an amateur her whole life then, guffaw."

That is just gross. Memo to all other guys out there like Man 2, Michelle Wie is still 15. I heard older ladies call her beautiful and older guys call her cute, but making sexual comments about her is too much. Man 2s, have some freaking respect for yourselves. The only place you can really get away with lusting for minors is Neverland Ranch. End side rant.

I feel safe in saying that she is a good, not great (great for 15, but you can't judge her like that), golfer and can more than hold her own competing against men. Her game will get much better and her time will come, there's no doubt about that. She is going to do some great things in golf. I used to agree with the line that she should just enjoy being a kid and cut back on the amount of tournaments she plays in, but I find that argument weaker by the day.

She said at the beginning of the tournament that she isn't trying to prove anything or change things — she just loves playing golf and enjoys traveling with her parents to the different tournaments. People want either want her to go away or go full-throttle to change things, but she is comfortable right in the middle. And I think that's okay.

The biggest surprise to me when I was there was how many young girls were there to support her. Girls who obviously had never been to a golfing event before were there cheering her on. Old guys were trading stories that all had a similar theme — they couldn't thank Michelle enough because now their granddaughters had a reason to call grandpa on the weekends — to go golfing. She's changing the game without trying and she's enjoying the pace she's at now. She will be great one day, but for now, let her live her life and stop worrying about if she's doing it right, enjoy the show, and just let her play.

The Sports Gospel According to Mark is sponsored by BetOnSports.com. BetOnSports.com gives you the greatest sports action to bet on. Wager on football, cricket, boxing, Rugby, horse racing, and more. Mark Chalifoux is also a weekly columnist for SportsFan Magazine. His columns appear every Tuesday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Mark at [email protected].