Thursday, October 13, 2005
Michelle Wie to Make Professional Debut at the Samsung World Championship
PALM DESERT, Calif. Oct 13, 2005 — Get ready for the "Michelle Wie Show" as the teen golfing prodigy makes her professional debut Thursday at the Samsung World Championship at Bighorn Golf Club.
She plays in the second-to-last group with Cristie Kerr, right in front of Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer.
Wie is thrust in the middle of the top three players on the LPGA Tour money list Sorenstam again closing in on $2 million, the 19-year-old Creamer having already set a record for rookies with over $1.3 million, Kerr right behind and still trying to get her due.
And yet, all the attention likely will be on a 16-year-old junior in high school.
The Samsung World Championship has attracted media from all over the world, and it has turned the LPGA Tour into Wie's personal showcase.
"It doesn't bother me," Sorenstam said. "I think it's great we're getting more attention. If I couldn't get the attention, I'm glad Michelle can get it. I'm just happy to be a part of it. I know what I've achieved. I know the records that I have set, and nobody can take those away."
Wie is hardly a newcomer, having played 24 times on the LPGA Tour alone since she was 12. She has made her last 16 cuts on the LPGA, and her three runner-up finishes this year include the LPGA Championship.
Expectations are entirely different now.
"It's a lot easier to play when you've got an 'a' by your name," said Juli Inkster, referring to how amateurs are denoted on the leaderboard. "She had pressure as an amateur, too. When you have to count everything, it can take a little different feeling."
Wie already has endorsements that are said to be worth $10 million a year, although some industry insiders think the numbers are slightly inflated. Either way, she makes more endorsement money than anyone, adding to the anticipation of how she will perform as a part-time pro.
Wie believes she is ready.
"I was practicing really hard playing for $5 incentives," Wie said. "My dad would give me $5 if I made a birdie putt, and stuff like that. But my stakes are going to be a lot higher right now, so I'm practicing really hard. I don't really see it as pressure, I see it as incentive to practice harder."
For now, no one can deny the talent and excitement surrounding her.
"Michelle is good for golf, just as Tiger (Woods) was good for golf," LPGA Tour commissioner Carolyn Bivens said. "There are a lot of people who may not follow golf otherwise, but tune in when you've got Michelle or Tiger out there."
B.J. Wie has said his daughter won't challenge the LPGA requirement that members be 18 years old. And while he says her focus will initially be on the LPGA Tour, the ultimate dream is to get her PGA Tour card.
Wie is trying to add 10 percent to her length, so the distance she carries her tee shot increases from 260 yards to 285 yards, which the father believes will allow her to compete against the men.
For now, Wie has to prove herself against her own gender.
The Samsung World Championship has only 18 players and no cut, the field determined by major champions and top players from the money list. Wie was given an exemption, which knocked Inkster out of the field. Not only that, Wie has signed up Inkster's caddie, Greg Johnston.
Creamer often gets lost in the talk over the youth movement, but she's more focused on someday overtaking Sorenstam at No. 1 in women's golf.
"I guess it's every event that Michelle is at, there's an extra buzz," Creamer said. "I'm used to it now."
Sorenstam, secure in her achievement and fame, also doesn't seem troubled by the extra attention.
She was content to practice alone Tuesday afternoon, and it was a phenomenal display. Her caddie, Terry McNamara, stood 85 yards away to catch soft sand wedges with a baseball glove. He eventually moved back to about 150 yards when Sorenstam went with 8-iron, and on three consecutive shots, he stayed in the same spot.
Too bad no one was around to see it.
Wie and Woods took different paths on their way to professional golf. Woods didn't play on the PGA Tour until he was 16, and never played more than four tour events a year until he turned pro after a sterling amateur career and two years at Stanford. Wie qualified for her first LPGA Tour event at age 12, and was so hooked that she honed her game by competing against the best.
The similarities are their marketing appeal, and explosive power.
And both sought counsel from Ernie Els when deciding to turn pro.
Woods and Els retreated to the clubhouse after the '96 British Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes, where Woods grilled the South African star about life on the tour.
"We were sitting there talking, and I remember him saying he doesn't know what he wants to do, whether to turn pro or stay in school," Els once said. "I told him he was good enough to turn pro. He did, and the rest is history."
Wie was in Orlando, Fla., two months ago with swing coach David Leadbetter who also works with Els when they called the Big Easy to talk about her future. Wie and Els played practice rounds for two years at the Sony Open.
Els was traveling Wednesday, but his wife relayed the conversation in an e-mail.
"Ernie told her there was no need to wait, as he thought she was ready to turn pro," Liezl Els said. "He spoke mostly to Michelle, but also had a word with her dad, whom he told the same thing."
The rest is history?
That remains to be seen. The first step comes Thursday.
She plays in the second-to-last group with Cristie Kerr, right in front of Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer.
Wie is thrust in the middle of the top three players on the LPGA Tour money list Sorenstam again closing in on $2 million, the 19-year-old Creamer having already set a record for rookies with over $1.3 million, Kerr right behind and still trying to get her due.
And yet, all the attention likely will be on a 16-year-old junior in high school.
The Samsung World Championship has attracted media from all over the world, and it has turned the LPGA Tour into Wie's personal showcase.
"It doesn't bother me," Sorenstam said. "I think it's great we're getting more attention. If I couldn't get the attention, I'm glad Michelle can get it. I'm just happy to be a part of it. I know what I've achieved. I know the records that I have set, and nobody can take those away."
Wie is hardly a newcomer, having played 24 times on the LPGA Tour alone since she was 12. She has made her last 16 cuts on the LPGA, and her three runner-up finishes this year include the LPGA Championship.
Expectations are entirely different now.
"It's a lot easier to play when you've got an 'a' by your name," said Juli Inkster, referring to how amateurs are denoted on the leaderboard. "She had pressure as an amateur, too. When you have to count everything, it can take a little different feeling."
Wie already has endorsements that are said to be worth $10 million a year, although some industry insiders think the numbers are slightly inflated. Either way, she makes more endorsement money than anyone, adding to the anticipation of how she will perform as a part-time pro.
Wie believes she is ready.
"I was practicing really hard playing for $5 incentives," Wie said. "My dad would give me $5 if I made a birdie putt, and stuff like that. But my stakes are going to be a lot higher right now, so I'm practicing really hard. I don't really see it as pressure, I see it as incentive to practice harder."
For now, no one can deny the talent and excitement surrounding her.
"Michelle is good for golf, just as Tiger (Woods) was good for golf," LPGA Tour commissioner Carolyn Bivens said. "There are a lot of people who may not follow golf otherwise, but tune in when you've got Michelle or Tiger out there."
B.J. Wie has said his daughter won't challenge the LPGA requirement that members be 18 years old. And while he says her focus will initially be on the LPGA Tour, the ultimate dream is to get her PGA Tour card.
Wie is trying to add 10 percent to her length, so the distance she carries her tee shot increases from 260 yards to 285 yards, which the father believes will allow her to compete against the men.
For now, Wie has to prove herself against her own gender.
The Samsung World Championship has only 18 players and no cut, the field determined by major champions and top players from the money list. Wie was given an exemption, which knocked Inkster out of the field. Not only that, Wie has signed up Inkster's caddie, Greg Johnston.
Creamer often gets lost in the talk over the youth movement, but she's more focused on someday overtaking Sorenstam at No. 1 in women's golf.
"I guess it's every event that Michelle is at, there's an extra buzz," Creamer said. "I'm used to it now."
Sorenstam, secure in her achievement and fame, also doesn't seem troubled by the extra attention.
She was content to practice alone Tuesday afternoon, and it was a phenomenal display. Her caddie, Terry McNamara, stood 85 yards away to catch soft sand wedges with a baseball glove. He eventually moved back to about 150 yards when Sorenstam went with 8-iron, and on three consecutive shots, he stayed in the same spot.
Too bad no one was around to see it.
Wie and Woods took different paths on their way to professional golf. Woods didn't play on the PGA Tour until he was 16, and never played more than four tour events a year until he turned pro after a sterling amateur career and two years at Stanford. Wie qualified for her first LPGA Tour event at age 12, and was so hooked that she honed her game by competing against the best.
The similarities are their marketing appeal, and explosive power.
And both sought counsel from Ernie Els when deciding to turn pro.
Woods and Els retreated to the clubhouse after the '96 British Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes, where Woods grilled the South African star about life on the tour.
"We were sitting there talking, and I remember him saying he doesn't know what he wants to do, whether to turn pro or stay in school," Els once said. "I told him he was good enough to turn pro. He did, and the rest is history."
Wie was in Orlando, Fla., two months ago with swing coach David Leadbetter who also works with Els when they called the Big Easy to talk about her future. Wie and Els played practice rounds for two years at the Sony Open.
Els was traveling Wednesday, but his wife relayed the conversation in an e-mail.
"Ernie told her there was no need to wait, as he thought she was ready to turn pro," Liezl Els said. "He spoke mostly to Michelle, but also had a word with her dad, whom he told the same thing."
The rest is history?
That remains to be seen. The first step comes Thursday.
