It was Michelle Wie as we haven't seen her for the longest of times.

Not just ripping long, accurate drives and burying pressure putts — though they were things to behold, too — but mostly Wie finally being, well, the "Big Wiesy" as Ernie Els had dubbed her, again.

The natural smile and the boundless energy she brought to the U.S.' Solheim Cup victory recalled a once-upon-a-time Wie. It was the Michelle of oh, say, about age 16, a period that had seemingly up and disappeared these last few years. That she will soon be 20 tells you how long the divide has been and how rough the ride had become.

But to watch her jubilantly running with the flag around the 18th green Sunday was to glimpse it all back in focus again, the effervescence, the spiking hope and resurgent confidence.

As good as Wie was for the U.S. Solheim Cup victory, the experience over the weekend in Illinois was even better for her on several personal fronts. In going 3-0-1 to help carry the U.S. to a 16-12 victory, Wie had both her talents and energy back on display.

To be sure her game has been coming around the last few months, but you wonder how much Wie getting to be one of the girls for a change helped to crystallize things at Solheim. For one of the rare times since the Curtis Cup as an amateur, she got to stray from being Michelle Wie Inc., with all the burdens that carried, to being part of a team. An accepted and, yes, even embraced member.

Before turning pro, Wie had become the ultimate solo act in women's golf, a stand-alone brand. She has been skillfully packaged and marketed to be a one-and-only. The flip side has been what we've seen in tournaments where, apart from the small talk and formal situations, there is a distinct and often stiff division between Wie and the others.

But not this past weekend where it was undoubtedly therapeutic for her to buddy up with the others. It showed her human side again as she mugged and clowned around with Christina Kim.

Can it be a coincidence that when her father is forced to the background and the array of agents, coaches and handlers are out of the picture that Wie seems to be at her happiest? Was it just happenstance at Solheim that she played with not only such poise but renewed passion?

This time when something had the potential to go south there was little of the dispiriting resignation that had seemed to overtake her in past tournaments. She took chances. She made big shots. She smiled. She seemed ready again to fulfill her considerable promise.

You could tell that golf was fun again for Wie and that made it enjoyable to watch, too.