Then there was last year when, after getting more DQs and WDs than Top-20 finishes in LPGA tournaments, Wie blitzed through the qualifying tournament to earn her membership.

She has thrived, doing everything but win this LPGA season. After she was a captain's pick for this week's Solheim Cup, an exultant Wie was asked if she would like a mulligan for some of her decisions the past few years. Her answer was painfully honest, a break from the rehearsed/rehashed sound bites that have haunted her since she initially signed with the William Morris Agency as a pro.

"There's no such thing as mulligans in life," Wie said. "You make mistakes, you learn from them, and you move forward. I've definitely not had a perfect career so far. I've done a lot of good things. I've done a lot of bad things. I've done a lot of things I shouldn't have done. And I've done a lot of things that I've been proud of. And that's just life. I've never done this before. There's some situations I've never been in before, and you just take risks and learn from them if you don't succeed."

Wie has made millions of dollars in endorsements and — since turning pro just before her 16th birthday — on the golf course, though she has not won since that 2003 Women's Publinx. She has amazed, chagrined, inspired and totally ticked people off, mostly without knowing and usually without trying.

She has transcended sports over and over again and while her critics are vocal and often vicious, her supporters have become increasingly protective of the woman who turns 20 in October and finally feels at home in her wondrous world, again.

LPGA Hall of Famer Judy Rankin, one of the most perceptive, objective commentators in golf, believes of all Wie has accomplished the past decade, what she should be most proud of is ... "Simply survival, of the scrutiny that's been there since she was 12 or 13," Rankin said. "She should be proud of the fact she survived it and is still a nice person. That's often not easy for adults."

Wie has brought something special to golf, beyond the prodigious talent that is no longer considered precocious or intimidating. When Wie plays, no matter where she plays, people care. Some might care to see her fail, but most are mesmerized. How many others have that gift?

"To me, the reason Michelle has had such a huge impact and become so popular is that inherently fans of any sport love to root," Rolfing said. "When there is a rooting interest involved there is much more enthusiasm in general. One reason the NFL has been so successful is that people have a rooting interest for it.

"In some ways, golf doesn't have a whole lot of that, particularly if you look at the Champions Tour and even the LPGA. The average golf/LPGA fan has no rooting interest for or against those players. They have always had it with Michelle. They have always been a Michelle backer or a Michelle ... whatever. That's what creates popularity. It's not necessarily that everybody likes you."

Wie has come to understand that, without sacrificing the outrageous goals that initially made her so compelling. Being different was never a dare for Wie. She grew up believing there were no limits. Why couldn't she compete against men, qualify for The Masters, crush 360-yard drives and attend Stanford while playing on the LPGA tour?

Those dreams are still alive, if less hyped, as Wie closes on her 20th birthday. Of all the things she has accomplished the past 10 years, she is most proud of staying true to herself, and those infinite dreams.

"I'm proud of all the stuff I did going against the flow," Wie said. "Even though I had a lot of critics, I felt I always did what I wanted to do. I never reformed or changed how I was. I stayed on my own, stayed myself and didn't change myself. I'm prouder of that than anything else.

"I had a little setback with the injury, but I didn't stray. I stuck with the plan."

The plan now is to graduate, in Asian-American Studies or East Asian Studies or her new passion — art. Wie is dabbling in oils and watercolor and especially enjoys Asian calligraphy.

"I'm all over the place, pretty random," she said.

There is method to her random approach: "It keeps the pressure of competition off me," Wie said. "I'm in a different world."

Far from the craziness her golf world has become.

"I've always been a pretty even person, not really too excited about anything," Wie said. "Golf takes you places you've never gone before. Sometimes it takes you so high and so low. That has been my biggest surprise over the last 10 years."

Maybe more than anyone, Wie has brought Hawai'i golf to the world. She has proven, with her prodigious talent and more prodigious work ethic, that world-class golfers — and personalities — can be nurtured here. And, with her multi-faceted appeal to kids, different ethnicities and many other demographics, she has become a national story every time she touches a club.

She has helped change the face of golf. That might be Wie's most remarkable accomplishment, and its impact here is indelible in the seemingly endless stream of great junior players that has followed.

"I think she should be most proud of the interest she has generated and the attention she has generated for golf in general in Hawai'i, and in particular junior golf in Hawai'i," Rolfing said. "I'd also throw the Sony Open in Hawai'i in there. She should be really proud of the forum she has given all those. A lot of it is because of the attention she has drawn."

Wie draws attention like few others. Through all the madness and mayhem she and her parents — BJ and Bo — have remained close. Rolfing and Rankin consider that another major accomplishment.

"For all she's enjoyed, and all she's been through," Rankin said, "and given her celebrity, and I guess her bank account is still good, she's still a nice young woman. That's a credit to her and her parents. Many questioned how her parents directed her. I have opinions too, but I never believed her parents had anything but her best interests at heart. It's quite obvious they are very close to her. For anybody to think there are ulterior motives, I've just never seen it."

There have been major gaffes. Rolfing believes Wie should have focused more on winning an LPGA event early in her career and, "equally as important," wishes the Wies would have figured out how to deal with the media better.

Early on Wie had the press in the palm of her little hand with her genuine, honest, answers, and the more bizarre the better. But, particularly since turning pro and hooking up with William Morris (she is now with IMG), she has come off as coached and her upbeat personality hidden.

"That's surprised me all these years," Rolfing said. "Those canned and rehearsed answers ... I think it's been a mistake for her not to speak her mind. In the early days she did. The more she has retreated inward in dealing with the media, the more it has had a negative impact overall on her ability to play the game well.

"Your personality is a reflection of the way you play golf, I think. It's why people like watching Tiger Woods. They like the way he reacts to his great shots, love the way he plays the game. They loved the way Arnold Palmer played the game, and his personality and the way he played were one in the same almost.

"As Michelle's personality was pushed in the background in dealing with the media and public, I think her game got that way also," Rolfing added. "She's not as aggressive or dynamic, not playing the game by feel as she did when she was younger. She became more technical, more rehearsed — in what she was saying and what she was doing.

"I'd like to see a little more Michelle personality — a free spirit dealing with the public."

Rankin would like to see that fluid "Big Wiesy" 14-year-old swing back, but is convinced that Wie's talent, particularly in the wind and around the greens — not necessarily on them — is more than enough for her to win. The Hall of Famer still wonders why Wie hasn't, if even "by accident — she is that good, and has been that good this year." She wonders if Wie's inclusion in Solheim Cup might be the inspiration she needs.

Rankin doesn't have the background to gauge Wie's place in Hawai'i sports, but calls her one of the Top 50 stories in golf history.

Wie characterizes her inclusion in this series as "an honor," and inspiration.

"It makes me want to be a better player," Wie said. "I feel like I haven't tapped the surface yet. There's so much more I want to do. So far, there's been a lot of media coverage, but I want to live up to it."