The Big Wie-sy
How bad is my golf addiction? Yes, I will watch an LPGA tournament. That puts me in the minority, but I would highly advise it for the average male golfer. You can really learn a lot from how the ladies play... most of them hit it about as far as you do, they don't put crazy backspin on iron shots, and they have to lay up on most par 3's... it is a similar game to what you might do on the course on a really good day. The good thing they do is manage their way around they course, and through just solid play they shoot 3 or 4 under without major fireworks. Still, most men apparently do not agree with me, and ratings are never that great for an LPGA event.
Enter... Michelle Wie! The Tiger-esque savior of that tour. She qualified through Q-school, and is a regular member of the tour now, not sporadically jumping through the schedule like in the past. If you watched the Golf Channel's coverage of the SBS Open, you might have thought Wie has won as many majors as Annika, the way they were building her up. Then she held the lead going into the final round, and she's going to break through for her first LPGA win!!! Except... well, let's just say she's not what you would call a closer. After #10 she held a 3 shot lead, and promptly hit it into a water hazard and made double bogey on the very next hole. For all of the hype around Wie, and her obvious natural ability, I'm not alone in questioning her mental strength down the stretch in tournament play.
Now, in her defense, she's 19 years old. I had the mental strength of a turnip at 19, so who am I to judge. Plus, after watching the final round, other than that bad hole on #11, she actually played okay... but winner Angela Stanford played great. She really closed strong, and won the tournament rather than Wie giving it away. If they still held a second event in Hawaii, I would put money on Wie no question. Bottom line, she was putting great. She has always been solid tee to green, but average with her short game. If she putts as well as she did on Oahu, she will win fairly quickly. Plus, I stick to my theory that once she gets the monkey off her back and does win, she will win in bunches.
