Wie to challenge pro men

By Harry Blauvelt
USA Today

Michelle Wie will play in two men's golf tour events this year. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

The Punahou School 13-year-old will follow LPGA star Annika Sorenstam's appearance next week in the men's tour Colonial in Texas by playing in a men's tour event of her own, the Albertsons Boise Open Sept. 18-21.

The Idaho event is part of the Nationwide Tour, one step below the PGA Tour where Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson play.

Before heading to Idaho, Wie will bridge the gender gap on the Canadian Tour, competing against men at the Bay Mills Open Players' Championship on Aug. 21-24 in Brimley, Mich.

Amid the controversy this month surrounding Sorenstam's appearance at the Colonial, Wie is focused far down the road and maybe making a historic statement about professional golf.

"I'd like to play half and half," she says about the PGA and LPGA tours. "Each one offers something different. Maybe there will be one tour with some subdivisions."

It will be years before Wie turns pro. She wants a Stanford education first. But that's no hindrance to what she can accomplish now nor the demand for her presence. She'll participate in Boise on a sponsor's exemption.

"We think it's terrific to showcase one of America's most exciting young athletes," Larry Johnston, chairman and CEO of Albertsons, a supermarket chain, says of Wie. "It sends a great message about breaking down gender barriers."

Wie isn't concerned that her presence might not be popular with some players, as has happened to Sorenstam.

"I don't see anything negative coming out of it," says Wie. "It's not really anyone else's business. I think I'm worth it and that I should be able to play."

Her father, BJ, believes his daughter will be a role model.

"I think her playing will give young girls and boys unlimited possibilities for the future," he says. "What Michelle is trying to do is reduce the gender gap."

The Boise event fits Wie's schedule. She will play the LPGA's Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore., the following week before returning to Hawai'i.

Wie is becoming an "old" hand at teeing it up with men.

In February, she tied for 43rd at the Hawai'i Pearl Open, a pro event featuring players from the Japan PGA Tour. She was the only female.

Wie tied for fourth in the Hawai'i State Amateur Stroke Play Championship. She was one of three females and the only one to make the cut in the March event.

Her 2003 schedule also includes six LPGA events. She has played two, with good results.

She tied for ninth at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the year's first major, shooting 6-under-par 66 in the third round. She routinely drives the ball 280 yards and more.