She politely — but firmly — declines to sign golf balls and pictures that could end up on eBay. Despite not yet being old enough for a driver's license, she has courtesy cars at her disposal at some tournaments. She has played two dozen LPGA events but not one Hawai'i High School Athletic Association tournament.

She is scheduled to appear on "Late Night with David Letterman" Monday and "Good Morning America" Tuesday.

She is, for all intents and purposes, Michelle Wie Inc. and it isn't a matter of if she will turn professional and start cashing the checks, just when and how big.

To paraphrase, if she looks like a pro, plays like a pro and wants to be a pro, she might as will be one. Go for it, girl.

So, as the countdown continues toward her 16th birthday Oct. 11 and the Samsung World Championship in Palm Desert, Calif., two days later, where expectations are she will debut as a pro, nobody should be surprised if that scenario unfolds. Or, too upset.

She is all but there now, one sponsor's size 9-1/2 (men's) shoe in each of the heretofore disparate worlds of pro golf and gym class. So much so, in fact, that she would have to veer very little from the schedule she has played this year to earn an LPGA Tour card, play PGA events and still graduate.

As soon as Team Wie signs on the dotted line with International Management Group and, according to enduring rumor, Samsung, on multi-year deals, she becomes a multi-millionaire. Ten million, as Golfweek magazine, suggests? Up to $12 million as others hint? The only thing up in the air is how much. Talk about turning sweet 16.

For someone who admits to "always wanting to do un-normal things," as Wie said at the Sony Open in Hawai'i, she is positioned to walk a path that is as trailblazing as it will be lucrative.

Boldly, she could play both the LPGA and PGA tours without being a full-fledged member of either. She could take the best from both and, moreover, play events in Asia and Europe for appearance fees.

To earn a place on its tour without going through qualifying school, the LPGA said Wie would have to finish among the top 90 money winners next year while playing eight sponsor-exempted events. Last year that magic number was $83,000 — or only about $3,000 more than Wie would have taken home from her first LPGA stop this year, the SBS Classic at Turtle Bay. Had she not been an amateur, Wie would have already won approximately $629,203 in 2005.

The only catch is that for top-90 purposes the LPGA only uses full-field, domestic events of 75 players or more, meaning the U.S. Open, British Open, Evian Masters and Samsung purses couldn't be counted.

Team Wie and its advisors have shaped Michelle's appeal and uniqueness, crossing age and gender lines, mixing and matching LPGA and PGA stops and TV opportunities adroitly. As LPGA pro Cristie Kerr has observed, Wie "has this aura around her that makes people want to pay attention."

For three years now, that "aura" has brought people to Cherry Hills, Colo., and wherever Wie has played. Events such as the John Deere Classic, which recorded its biggest galleries and most sponsorships, and the U.S. Open, which had TV ratings topping the PGA's Barclays Classic, have reaped the benefits.

Soon, Wie will come calling for her share. When she does, it shouldn't surprise anyone.