By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

Thirteen-year old Michelle Wie...

That's how the references begin now for golf's brightest phenom. It is how she's identified on "SportsCenter" and in newspapers and magazines, almost as if it were part of her name.

Thirteen years old...

That's still years away from a learner's permit, much less driving solo anything but her Big Bertha. It is a couple birthdays removed from her first prom and when colleges can even begin the recruiting process.

There are rules of golf and shelves of how-to books, everything from silencing the yips to replacing the rake in the sand trap. But nowhere will you find the manual to success and happiness for a girl of her age with one foot in the world of professional golf and the other in tender adolescence.

With each bold step, her Footjoys break new ground and trod deeper into swirling, uncharted waters.

Indeed, "There is no roadmap for where she is going," said TV golf analyst Mark Rolfing. "They are putting together a roadmap for a road that has never existed before."

That is, as the Punahou School freshman-to-be tees off her own summer wide, coast-to-coast tour, both the wonder and the potential peril of Wie's ambitious undertaking.

So far, as Ann Miller's glimpse into Wie's life illustrates, Wie and her parents, BJ and Bo, have been able to strike a remarkable and refreshing balance. They have so far eluded the horrors of some of the young tennis phenoms of the past decade.

"Michelle is living her dream and her parents are supporting that," said Ko Olina director of golf Greg Nichols, who has been involved in junior golf programs. Adds Rolfing, "You hear of parents living vicariously through their children, but BJ is certainly not in that category. Thus far they have done a marvelous job."

Together, they have so far negotiated the narrow and precipitous path that allows Wie to live the life of a teenager while teeing it up with the pros and preserving college eligibility and amateur standing.

Now, even for one who shot a 66 at Nabisco, comes the hard part as she ventures out not only onto a wider slice of the LPGA Tour this summer but also the men's Canadian and Nationwide tours. With each additional step will come new and bigger pressures, the kind measured in tons per square inch, and lucrative temptations once almost unimagined.

With each success comes more compelling demands from the tours, sponsors and media and a tug-of-war for her time. For many of them she has already ceased to be a gangly teenager and become a much-sought commodity.

Said one pro golf insider, "I can guarantee you that they are already getting calls (for sponsorships and appearances). I would think for Michelle Wie there are millions of dollars probably being waved around right now. Not necessarily publicly, but ..."

Indeed, when high school basketball player LeBron James can command a $90 million Nike deal and Freddy Adou, a 13-year old soccer phenom, is already a millionaire, considerable riches are but a signature away for Wie, too.

"Some temptation is always going to be there, and they are going to have to be very careful about not making a mistake and doing something that might jeopardize her (amateur and NCAA) status," Rolfing said. "Traveling around, playing in all these pro tournaments, it is gonna be hard because everybody else that is there is a professional."

And, she is, after all, a 13-year- old blazing a trail.