Wie fires 75, misses LPGA cut by 2 shots
By Rusty Miller
Associated Press
DUBLIN, Ohio — It was another busy day in the life of 12-year-old Michelle Wie of Honolulu.
Associated Press
She shot a 75, missed the cut in an LPGA event by two strokes, moved closer to visiting Disney World, and took another lesson in what it's like to be a working adult on the pro tour.
B.J. Wie of Honolulu, who caddies for his 12-year-old daughter Michelle, says she's had a "really good experience" while playing at the Wendy's Championship. He says the players treated Michelle nicely.
"I should just wear a sign: 'I am 12,' " Wie said yesterday after playing in the second round of the Wendy's Championship.
Her age sets her apart, but she is different in other ways.
Reigning U.S. Women's Open champion Juli Inkster has a 12-year-old daughter of her own, Haley.
Not long ago, Inkster saw Wie chipping and putting on a hot day and said to her caddie, "Can you see Haley out there? She would say, 'Can I go to the pool now?' "
Wie played in her third LPGA tournament a month before she starts the eighth grade at Punahou School. There were bright spots — she birdied three of the last six holes yesterday — and also some not-so-bright ones: She was assessed a two-stroke penalty for slow play. "She had a little bit tricky chip shot and she wanted to spend a little more time, but apparently she exceeded the 30 seconds," said her father, B.J., a professor at the University of Hawai'i. He's also his daughter's caddie.
"I think this is a really good experience," he said. "I appreciate the LPGA official doing that because Michelle has to experience this penalty for slow play at an early age when she's not playing for money."
The Wies — Michelle, her father and her mother, Bo — have spent this summer on the road. It has been filled with golf, plenty of nights in hotels, sightseeing and priceless experiences.
They went to Oregon for the Women's Public Links, to Lincoln, Neb., for the Transnational, to Akron for a junior PGA championship and to New Jersey for a USGA tournament. Next up is a flight to Orlando tomorrow for a week of training and conditioning at the Leadbetter School, capped by a trip to Disney World and Universal Studios.
The family then returns to Hawai'i in time for Michelle's first day of classes, Aug. 24.
The summer was meant to be fun, and it has been. But the lengthy trip was also intended to introduce Wie to the life of a pro golfer.
LPGA rules prevent anyone from playing on tour full-time until their 18th birthday.
Asked when his daughter might join the tour, B.J. Wie said, "After college. Definitely after college. My feeling is that what she has experienced on the tour — she's played three times this year — is not appropriate for a young, 18-year-old or 20-year-old girl."
Having missed the cut of 150 yesterday — her 36-hole total was 152 — Wie planned to spend a lot of time on the waterslide at the pool near the first tee at Tartan Fields Golf Club.
When Wie writes "How I Spent My Summer Vacation," she can say she met some of the greatest players in the world.
"Juli Inkster, Lorie Kane, Betsy King, all the famous golfers," her father said. "I introduce her. They're always nice to her. They give her a lot of encouragement for what she's been doing, and some good advice."
Inkster's only concern is that Wie's adventure might be too much too soon.
"I just hope she doesn't get burned out," Inkster said. "I hope she enjoys the game and keeps after it, that she still has the passion when she's 22. That's a long time. That's 10 years. I just hope they don't push her, that they just let her do what she wants to do."
