Wie Bad

Now that you’re an adult answer this question (honestly please). Do you now believe that all the hype you heard while growing up about how great it would be to be an adult, was highly overrated? Most people do. Why else do we always hear adults wanting to turn back the clock and become kids again? We all do it, right?

Think for a moment about how true the statement is these days for Michele Wie, who turned 18 less than a week ago and is now legally an adult. Her 18th birthday was October 11, but it seems like only yesterday that she was a 14 year old phenom, on her way to conquering the world of golf, both women’s AND men’s. In the summer of 2005 at the age of 16, Wie drew a large crowd watching her play and almost making it, during US Open qualifying at Canoe Brook in New Jersey. Not that long ago it looked like she was a can’t miss.

If her first few days as an adult are any indication, Wie should begin efforts to brand her name and capitalize on what she’s already accomplished, because her golf game has suffered a meltdown, no one could see coming. Forget about competing against the men anymore, because Wie can’t even make a cut competing against the women (no offense intended!). Who would have thought that just a few short years ago Wie would be at a crossroad in her career, at the ripe old age of 18. Talk about a case of teenage burnout on steroids!

Blame it on her wrist injury. Blame it on her new life in college, or even blame it on her change of caddies, after her parents fired Greg Johnson, her long standing caddie. (If I was still a betting man, I’d bet heavily that the parents are a big part of this problem.) Regardless, Wie’s game over the past 15 months has abandoned her, coming apart at the seams by pro’s standards. One day she’s the darling of the media, almost making the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii, then a few short years later she’s shooting rounds in the high 70’s and 80’s, not in the 60’s as required to compete. To put it all into perspective, last week at the Samsung World Championships Michele Wie shot 79-79-77-71 for 18 over par while Lorena Ochoa, the winner shot 68-67-69-66, 36 shots better at 18 under. Her ballooning scoring average in 2007 rivals the spectacular train wreck performed by the 2007 NY Mets in September, as they collapsed down the back stretch of this year’s baseball season.

At least Wie’s in good company. While the world was discovering her on her way up, Annika Sorenstam was the queen of golf, even more dominant than Tiger Woods was in the men’s game. For the past two seasons though, Lorena Ochoa is #1, with Suzanne Pederson her main competitor each week lately. Now it’s Annika’s turn to try and get back on top, as she battles back from an early season neck injury that sidelined her for a few months.

Golf, more than any other sport has a way of coming and going and sometimes never coming back again EVER, at least at the same high level. To validate this, you only need to remember when the names David Duval and Ty Tryon filled the Golf Channel headlines and how quickly they disappeared from the radar screen. The major difference these days of course is that when golfers win tournaments and finish in the top 10 frequently, like David Duval did in the late 1990’s through 2001, they make a boat load of cash to carry them through the rough times.

In the case of Michele Wie, I somehow think she’ll survive this and chalk it up to a learning experience. My 2 cents prediction is that she’ll put her game face back on and compete on the LPGA Tour in the years to come. Whether she does or doesn’t, the women of the LPGA Tour are more fun to watch than ever before. What do you think? Please send me your comments to ajm.me@thumbsdown.info and I’ll post them on my blog.