When will
Illinois see Wie?
By Dave Berner,
Senior Writer
CHICAGO - (Feb. 18, 2004) - Ladies and gentlemen, take your eyes off
Tiger
for a moment and take a hard look at the Tigress. My friends, you are
seeing
golf's future and possibly the best 14-year-old golfer ever.
Michelle Wie, the 9th grader from Hawaii who measured her talents
against
the men at the recent Sony Open on the PGA Tour's Hawaiian swing in
January,
is a smarter, more poised, more astounding golfer than Tiger Woods was
when
he was a 9th grader. That's the common belief on the Tour. Even the
winner
of the Sony Open, Ernie Els, said, "She's got the best swing of anybody
I've
ever seen."
Sure, Wie didn't make the cut. But she missed it by just on stroke and
in
the second round shot a 68 against some of the best players in the game.
That score was the lowest by a female and by the youngest person to play
on
the PGA Tour.
If that doesn't get the heart of every Chicago-area golfer pumping a
mile a
minute, then you must be dead. Not only is she a phenomenon to watch, we
want to know when we can watch her here.
 Wie Chicago bound?
Two regularly-scheduled golf events are set for the summer. As always
the
Western Open comes to Cog Hill in Lemont, Illinois and the LPGA's
Kellogg-Keebler Classic is preparing to come back to Stonebridge Country
Club in Aurora, about 35 miles west of Chicago. This is a big market, a
big
golf town, a bonanza for everyone involved. So, let's get Michelle Wie
to
tee it up at both.
Is that possible? Are people frantically, diligently working on it? Yes
and
no.
Wie plans to play six LPGA events this year. There may be more if it
works
into her schedule. As of now, the Kellogg-Keebler is not on the list.
Wie
plans to try to qualify for the 2004 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links
or
the U.S. Amateur Public Links and qualifying rounds for the events will
bump
right up against the Kellogg-Keebler set for June 4-6. It would be a
very
tight fit to get her to come to Stonebridge. But don't count her out
yet. It
still depends on which USGA championship she's going to put her efforts
toward.
As for the Western? Forget it, sorry to say. She jumped right into the
Sony
without hesitation. After all, her stated goal is to someday play on
both
the LPGA and PGA tours. Wouldn't the prestigious Western be a great
place to
continue her training for the completion of that goal? Sure it would,
but
scheduling, once again, is the problem. The Women's U.S. Open is
scheduled
for the same week as the Western Open, July 1-4. Guess which one the
world's
best young woman player is going to choose?
Wie just have to wait
Sorry, this doesn't sound very promising for a Wie-filled summer. But
remember, she's young, very young. Wie plans another 3 years of high
school,
plans to attend Stanford, and then attempt to qualify for the PGA at
Q-school. She'll be around awhile and her chances of coming to Chicago
will
improve each year. In 2007, the U.S. Amateur Public Links
Championship
will be held at Cantigny Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois. If Wie is still
working on her golf resume, and there's no indication she won't be,
coming
to the Chicago area to claim that trophy would be marvelous for her and
tremendous for us.
Just when we were getting used to watching Annika-the-machine tear her
way
through the LPGA Tour and flirt with regularly competing with the men,
along
comes Wie to brazenly step forward and announce that her plans are to be
a
part time, if not full time player on the PGA Tour and to someday play
in
The Masters. The Masters? That bastion of male dominance and arrogance?
How'
s she going to do that?
Simple, my friend. If she wins the U.S.
Amateur
title she gets to compete for the green jacket. Girl or not, she wins an
official invitation to Augusta. And don't think for one minute she
doesn't
know how she's going to get there. Just like Tiger, she has a list of
golf
goals, she looks at them often, and works daily to make those dreams
reality. She 's got a long way to go, but only in time, not in talent.
Wie stands 6-feet tall, is poised, smiles a lot, and, oh yeah, just
happens
to hit the ball 300 yards off the tee. She focuses and competes like
Woods
and at the Sony Open scored better than 29 male professionals on the
first
day and 83 on the second finishing ahead of John Cook, Hinsdale's Jeff
Sluman and Scott Hoch. Plus, the gallery following Wie was the largest
crowd
the event had ever seen.
That kind of play has tournament directors all over the country thinking
of
ways to get Michelle Wie on the tee sheet. But not everyone can, and not
everyone will. But the Chicago area is a rich place for professional
golf
and Michelle is not going to forget about us. We've just got to learn to
be
a little more patient.
Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.
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