The 6-foot tall teenager from Honolulu received a sponsor’s exemption to play in her hometown Sony Open in Hawai'i, which begins Thursday at Waialae Country Club.

Wie, who won the U.S. Public Links Championship at the age of 13, failed to qualify for the Sony Open the past two years and missed the cut in two second-tier men’s events in 2003.

Woods and others have raised questions about her participation in an event that will feature seven of the world’s top 10 male golfers.

"You put young kids out there to learn how to win golf tournaments and she’s not going to do that playing against the men," said Singh, who was runner-up at the season-opening Mercedes Championships on Sunday after leading the PGA Tour in prize money last year with about $7.6 million.

Singh will compete in the Sony Open and will play against Wie today in the First Hawaiian Bank’s Pro-Junior Golf Challenge, a competition that matches six PGA Tour professionals with six Hawai'i juniors.

Wie is paired with Paul Azinger, the 2000 Sony Open winner. Singh will be paired with Wie’s Punahou schoolmate, Stephanie Kono.

Wie played in seven events last year on the LPGA, the main women’s tour, with her best showing coming at the Nabisco Championship. She finished ninth in that tournament, one of four major events on the LPGA Tour.

Woods, who met Wie for the first time at last week’s Mercedes Championships in Hawaii, said she may be making a mistake by playing in men’s tournaments. Woods, the world’s top-ranked golfer, isn’t playing this week after tying for fourth at the Mercedes.

"It’s good experience to obviously move up and play against people who are better than you," he said during a press conference. "But there’s a certain art to winning. If you can instill that early on, I think you’re going to have more of a successful career."

Two women golfers, top-ranked Annika Sorenstam and club professional Suzy Whaley, failed to make the 36-hole cut when they competed in U.S. men’s tournaments last year.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Ernie Els, who played a practice round with Wie today, said he’s not sure what women golfers are accomplishing by competing against men.

"If they’re trying to prove something to themselves, great, but what’s the future?" Els said during a press conference at the Mercedes Championships. "I think it’s good for the game, but I don’t know where they’re going with it."

Still, Els said he’s impressed by the teenager whose fluid swing produces drives of more than 280 yards. Wie tied for 39th at the U.S. Women’s Open in July, where she led all players with a 281-yard average.