Michelle Wie is about to go where no Hawai'i athlete has ever gone.

While there is still no confirmation from Wie or her family, an Associated Press story yesterday reported that the Punahou School junior will announce Wednesday morning at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental that she is turning pro.

The hotel's backyard is Waialae Country Club, where Wie rocked the golf world two years ago when she missed the Sony Open in Hawai'i cut by just one stroke. Wie, 14 at the time, shot a 2-under-par 68 and became the first female to shoot in the 60s in a PGA Tour event.

She turns 16 on Oct. 11 and will play in the LPGA's Samsung World Championship that week in California. Greg Johnston, who has caddied for LPGA Hall of Famer Juli Inkster for more than a decade, has told friends he will carry Wie's bag in her first event as a professional.

The Wies could not be reached for comment yesterday. But The Associated Press, Golf World and other media have estimated Wie will have endorsement deals that will pay her $10 million annually.

That puts her in some lucrative company in the athletic world. It is almost twice as much as Annika Sorenstam, the top-ranked women's golfer in the world, reportedly makes from endorsements (that doesn't include winnings). The only female athletes who earn more, according to Forbes magazine, are tennis players Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.

Most reports say one of Wie's major endorsement deals is with Nike, with AP's source saying it is worth "$4 million to $5 million a year."

Wie has been using Nike equipment recently, and in her past two tournaments — the Evian Masters and Weetabix Women's British Open — Wie wore only Nike apparel.

AP also reported there would be a similar deal with Sony, which came into the negotiations late. Samsung has also been mentioned.

All the zeros are no surprise to those who have followed Wie's astonishing career. Lily Yao, who retired two years ago as First Hawaiian Bank's first female vice chair, often offers Wie advice when they golf. Yao stands in awe of what the 6-foot-1 teen has accomplished.

"Others limit themselves in the women's world," Yao says. "Michelle put herself in a global perspective and wants to belong to the whole world."

Wie's unique attributes — the 300-yard drives, graceful Korean-American good looks and spontaneous teenage wit — have helped her popularity soar.

When a friend asked recently if she was going to sign a $50 million, five-year contract, Wie laughed. "What would I do with all that money?" she said. "Now, $1 million I could spend."

A Golf Digest item this year suggested that if Wie could compete on the men's tour, her value would soar to as much as $20 million a year.

That has apparently been the family plan since shortly after Wie seriously picked up the sticks. She won two of the three major Hawai'i women's tournaments at age 11. At age 12, she became the youngest to qualify for an LPGA tournament the week of the event (Monday qualifier).

She won her first — and so far only — major national championship at 13, making her the youngest in the 108-year history of the U.S. Golf Association to win an open event.

At 14, she proved her goal of playing The Masters was more than a childhood fling. Sony gave her an exemption to play with the men at Waialae and the reaction to her captivating performance — positive and negative — was mind-boggling.

This year, she finished in the top three in two of the LPGA's four majors, and the $680,000 she could have earned as a pro would have placed her no lower than 10th on the money list. She also followed up her second Sony with an appearance at the PGA's John Deere Classic.

And, she became the first woman to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Public Links, beating three guys before falling to the eventual champion in the quarterfinals.

There is no commitment from Sony or the Wies for the next Sony Open, but if she turns pro she can accept seven PGA Tour sponsor exemptions a year and six from the LPGA, and be eligible for the U.S. and British Women's Opens — both majors.

Wie can also accept appearance fees to play in foreign events. The Casio World Open, a Japanese tour event in November, has already announced it would be the site of her pro debut against the men.

With the dramatic impact Wie has had on galleries and TV ratings, and with the tours negotiating new television contracts, there is no doubt the prodigy would be in demand.

The Wies insist Michelle still plans to graduate from Punahou in 2007. With school and a full professional schedule, her life would be hectic even without membership in a professional association.

Wie is immensely marketable now, and Wednesday she apparently will begin to reap the financial benefits — in time to appear on the national news.

"I think it's great," says Yao, whose only advice now is to get a full-time financial adviser. "What she wanted to do is to be a nontraditional lady golfer. She wanted to go through that glass ceiling and she has shattered it.

"She has the talent and the intelligence and the skill, so, to me, the sky is the limit for her."

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.