Michelle Wie, who turns 16 on Oct. 11, could be turning pro before then.

Although her father, BJ Wie, said yesterday that a final decision had not been made, there were growing indications that the golfing phenomenon from Hawai'i was close to signing a contract with the William Morris Agency, which would end her amateur career.

According to an insider, the William Morris Agency offered Wie a large guarantee and also cut its commission to nothing.

"There's a lot of speculation," said BJ Wie, who did not directly answer when asked about the role of the William Morris Agency.

"I'm still learning ... there's so much to learn. To be honest, I haven't decided (on) anything before her birthday, yet."

Movie stars Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart and Marilyn Monroe were once clients of William Morris, best known for representing actors and others in show business.

The agency has some athletes as clients, among them tennis player Serena Williams, boxer Oscar De La Hoya and NBA star Kevin Garnett.

"The Morris Agency knows business," said Doug Shabelman, senior vice president of Burns Sports & Celebrities, a company that helps put athletes together with advertisers. "Just because they don't have a big sports representation, it doesn't mean they don't know what they're doing."

When Wie played the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2004, she said "Tiger money" would persuade her to turn pro and although she isn't likely to come close to the five-year, $45 million deal Tiger Woods signed with Nike in 1996, she could fall into the $20 million neighborhood in a four- or five-year deal, according to Bob Williams, the president of Burns Sports.

A former agent for high-profile pros who did not want to be identified said Wie would be worth as much as $8 million a year to an image-making company such as Nike and that Wie might command as much as $10 million to $12 million a year.

Christian Muirhead, director of corporate communications at William Morris, declined comment about Wie. Also having little to say was Ross Berlin, formerly the vice president in charge of title sponsor and marketing accounts for the PGA Tour, who recently gave notice to sign on with William Morris and is believed to be in line to represent Wie.

"I'm not going to comment on anything right now," Berlin said.

Wie's next tournament is the $850,000 Samsung World Championship at Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, two days after she turns 16.