Then she follows that up two days later by becoming the first female to earn a spot in the U.S. Amateur Men's Public Links Championship, sharing co-medalist honors in a 36-hole qualifier in Pennsylvania.

With every shot, with every tournament, the 15-year-old Wie, who will be a junior at Punahou School this fall, is showing that she's up where she belongs. And that her exemptions were merited and not merely for token appearances.

"She's got to learn to win first," sniffed critics. Hah. Finishing second to Annika Sorenstam, and only by three strokes, is like winning these days on the LPGA Tour.

It's interesting that they finished one-two, considering they're the two biggest stories in women's golf today.

Had she been a professional and able to keep any prize money, Wie would have earned $164,385 last Sunday, bringing her 2005 LPGA "earnings" to $294,920 in just four events. She also finished tied for second in the season-opening SBS Open at the Turtle Bay Resort.

It has been what, five years now, that Michelle Wie's name first appeared in a golf article? At that time, Olomana teaching pro Casey Nakama told me that there's a 10-year-old girl in his program that can out-drive any woman in Hawai'i. And a lot of men, too.

"You've got to be kidding," I remember telling Nakama.

Since then, we have all had the opportunity, privilege really, to watch golf history in the making by someone from Hawai'i.

First on the local level, when Wie, then 11, became the youngest champion in two local women's majors, the Jennie K. Wilson Invitational and the Hawai'i State Women Golf Association Stroke Play Championship, and the youngest and first female to qualify and play in the Manoa Cup at 12. At 13, she won the Hawai'i State Open women's title by, appropriately, 13 strokes and became the first female to win a match in the Manoa Cup, the oldest golf tournament locally.

Even at 12, she started making headlines nationally by playing in three LPGA tournaments and making it to the semifinals of the 2002 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship. She won the 2003 WAPL, becoming at 13, its youngest champion.

Last year at 14, Wie became the youngest top-10 finisher in an LPGA major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, by finishing fourth, and made the cut in all seven of her LPGA appearances. She also became the youngest player named to the Curtis Cup team, leading the Americans to a victory, and reached the women's public links final again, this time losing to Taiwan's Ya Ning Tseng, 1 up.

Every large step of the way, Wie has lived up to the greatness expected of her.

As someone who likes to think out of the box, the tee box in this case, Wie last year received an exemption to the PGA Tour's Sony Open in Hawai'i — and shot a 68 in the second round, missing the cut by one stroke. She missed the cut again in this year's Sony Open but will play with the guys again after receiving an exemption to next month's John Deere Classic.

If Sorenstam had faced pressure last week in securing the second leg in her stated bid for a grand slam, Wie also had to have had as much pressure with all the outcries about being the first amateur given an exemption to the McDonald's LPGA Championship.

You never heard so many gripes. Didn't anyone notice that Wie had missed only one cut in her past 17 LPGA appearances going into last week's major. And that she already posted top-10 finishes in two previous majors.

"There's definitely going to be some people who are against me, and, you know, I don't really care about it. I'm pretty used to it by now," Wie said after becoming the only player in the field to shoot under par all four rounds.

With her performance, Wie certainly validated the sponsor's exemption, which surely will be extended again next year.

Who can blame McDonald's? Or Weetabix, which gave Wie an exemption to the Women's British Open. Six-foot tall with striking good looks, Wie's the biggest cross-over attraction in golf right now — with her game and personality.

Her poise on the golf course makes you forget that she's still only a kid. Remarked CBS golf announcer Bill Macatee after Wie's opening-round press conference in which she shared her struggles with a stomach ailment, "I'm almost positive the word 'barf' has never been used before."

There still will be critics, of course. Especially if she continues her quest to play in the Masters. It's why Wie wants to play in men's events such as the USGA Public Links Championships or any PGA Tour event willing to extend an invitation.

Having proved she can play against the LPGA's best, Wie wants to test her length and skills against the guys.

Why, you ask?

The answer's simple. Because she can.

Anyway, to stir the pot a little more, here's a suggestion:

Imagine if Nancy Lopez makes Wie one of the captain's picks for the American team in the Solheim Cup. What an uproar among the ladies that would create. But an inspired choice if you think about it.