Michelle Wie goes pro, to become highest paid woman golfer

[Young Drachma]

Not a big shock, but still..

Teen phenom Michelle Wie will officially turn pro on Oct. 5, Golf World has learned, signing deals worth an estimated $10 million annually, then making her competitive debut the next week at the LPGA's Samsung World Championship.

Endorsement contracts with Nike and Sony have been finalized, according to multiple sources, clearing the way for Wie to make an announcement Wednesday in Honolulu.

She'll make it official at the Kahala Mandarin Hotel near Waialae Country Club, where she has twice played in the Sony Open. The time was set at 8 a.m. so Wie could get to class at Punahou School. The idea was to allow her to stick to her routine, although she'll be the only junior already a millionaire.

As recently as Monday night, an agreement with Nike appeared to be in jeopardy. Issues involving the amount of control Nike would have in determining Wie's career direction remained a sticking point throughout the negotiations, sources say, but the conflict was resolved late Wednesday.

Wie will wear Nike apparel and use the company's golf equipment. Sony, the title sponsor of the Honolulu-based event in which Wie made her first two PGA Tour starts, is also part of an endorsement package that will make Wie the world's highest-paid female golfer -- a player whose willingness to compete against men has translated into widespread marketing appeal.

In late November, Wie will play in the Casio World Open, a men's event on the Japan PGA Tour. Her 2006 schedule is expected to include the Sony Open and several other PGA Tour events, up to eight LPGA tournaments (including the U.S. Women's Open and Women's British Open) and a mix of overseas appearances.

[Raiders Army]

She just wants to be with the men. Who could blame her? If I could do it over, I'd go to a 90% female college.

[WrongWay]

She has to do something now. With every defeat at every level of golf, her 15 minutes of fame are almost over.

[Subby]

Originally Posted by WrongWay

She has to do something ah now. With every defeat at every level of golf, her 15 minutes of fame are almost over.

Yeah...good call. She's a talentless hack.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Subby

Yeah...good call. She's a talentless hack.

No Kidding. Nike is paying 5 million and they aren't known to flush money away too often.

[Young Drachma]

Four birdies, tied for a 4-way tie for 6th @ 4 under par. The 18-player, no-cut Samsung Championships 1st round today in CA on the 14th hole. She recieved a sponsors exemption to the tournament, Patti Inkster, a LPGA vet, was bounced because of it - apparently a while ago - and so, Wie picked her caddie for the weekend. So I can't imagine Instker was all that mad or else the caddy might not have bothered?

Or maybe she was miffed...but figured that's just how it is.

Meh. So much for "pressure"

[WrongWay]

Originally Posted by Subby

Yeah...good call. She's a talentless hack.

I wouldn't say that. But, I would say that she is way overated.

Like I said, she can't win on the Men's circuit, she can't win on the women's circuit, and she can't even when on the amateur's circuit.

She had to do something. So why not turn pro why her name was still hot before she started on a losing streak.


WOW, 6th place in a no name tournament. WOOHOO

[SirFozzie]

I wouldn't call a invite only tournament with qualifying be so strict that 19 players on the LPGA tour would have made it, (and she would have been the 20th if she had turned pro earlier, because she gave up $650,000 in tournament earnings)

Yer on the Wrong Way, WrongWay.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Originally Posted by WrongWay

I wouldn't say that. But, I would say that she is way overated.

Like I said, she can't win on the Men's circuit, she can't win on the women's circuit, and she can't even when on the amateur's circuit.

She had to do something. So why not turn pro why her name was still hot before she started on a losing streak.


WOW, 6th place in a no name tournament. WOOHOO

Sounds like a certain WTA player a few years back.
Personally I think she's overrated, I think there's a 19 y/o girl thats alot better than her and already in the circuit. I dont know her name though.

[Young Drachma]

You're talking about Paula Creamer. She's won more than Michelle this year, yes. Creamer is in the Top 5 on the money list, Michelle - had she been a pro - would've been 13th. She had her best round in 25 LPGA events today, shooting -7 under for the day, -9 for the tournament and tied for 2nd with Paula Creamer and Annika.

As far as it being a no-name tournament, it's an invitation only, no-cut $850,000 purse event. Not exactly chump change on the women's circuit and is considered the "5th major" on the LPGA tour.

She played here last year, too. So...yeah. It's all top money leaders from the LPGA tour, major winners and a European tour player, plus, michelle.

Grace Park, a Korean on the LPGA tour got an invite in the late 90s as an amateur too. So Samsung isn't exactly playing favourites, and if they are, it's a Korean favouritism, even though Michelle is a pro now. (and is obviously 1st-gen American)

[Galaril]

Anyone know what happened today at the Samsung tournament as to Michelle Wie's disqualification. It was too bad she had finished fourth with a purse of 53k.

[Thomkal]

She was disqualified for not taking a legal drop from a bush the day before.

[Flasch186]

Dairy Queen

[tdydynasty]

I wonder if anyone will WD from a tournament and go to Winn-Dixie if they are any left.

[TroyF]

Christ, I've now heard it all. Michelle Wie overrated? She would have finished 13th on the money list this year.

Impressive, huh? Now realize she did that in SEVEN tournaments and she was 15 years old.

Keep in mind that Tiger didn't win a USGA amature tournament until he turned the age of 18. He didn't win his first PGA tourney until he was 21.

Think it's gonna take Wie that long to win on the LPGA? Something tells me she'll have made the cut at a mens tournament and have a few majors by that time on the LPGA tour. Geez. . . Wish I could suck at something that bad.

[Young Drachma]

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2193534

Nearly two hours later, she was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. Because Wie dropped the ball closer to the hole -- by 3 inches according to her, by about a foot according to the rules officials -- she should have added two strokes to her third-round 71.

"I learned a great lesson," Wie said, her voice choking with emotion. "From now on, I'll call a rules official no matter where it is, whether its 3 inches or 100 yards. I respect that."

Wie hit a 5-wood into a Gold Lantana bush Saturday and was barely able to find it. She told her playing partner, Grace Park, she was taking an unplayable lie, dropped away from the bush, then chipped to 15 feet and made the par. It was a critical par save, and Wie steadied herself to get within five shots of the lead.

Michael Bamberger, a reporter for Sports Illustrated, told tour officials Sunday afternoon that he was concerned about the drop. Rules officials Jim Haley and Robert O. Smith reviewed tape from NBC Sports before taking Wie and caddie Greg Johnston to the seventh green after the tournament ended Sunday.

"If I had to make the ruling based on the videotape, to me it was inconclusive," Smith said.

He had Johnston and Wie show him where the ball was in the bushes, then where they dropped. They paced it off, then used string to measure the distance and determined it to be slightly closer.

Basically, she was disqualified for taking a drop that was too close. She should've carded a 73 yesterday, instead of a 71 and that's why she was DQ'd. The rules of golf are pretty clear and so, all this is going to do is "prove" to all the haters that she shouldn't be playing out there, when the numbers obviously prove she should be.

So whatever. It's embarassing. It's a gaffe for a pro, but Tiger finished something like 60th in his first pro tournament. She still finished above the pack in an elite event. She'll learn from it, you can be sure of that.

What's REALLY weird about golf is, you have reporters can intervene in the rules like that? What the hell? Like....we can obviously watch replays in other pro sports and they'll either count 'em or not. Hell, Wyoming lost a game yesterday because of bad ref calls when they made a game-tying field goal, but it was called a missed one, despite 5 replays on the screen courtesy of ESPN that showed it going over.

Anyway, it seems fishy to me that they can come back a day later - after it happened - and ask them "oh wait, so we didn't catch this before." Because in most other cases, they always catch the mistakes the day it happens, not a day later. So..seems fishy to me. But it might be more ammunition for her to want to play men's event and eschew LPGA events all together. That said, a mistake is a mistake. I'm just thinking it's interesting how it all went down.

But oh well. She was inconsistent all weekend, but that's been the knock against her from the start. She'll obviously get better. 16?! Geez...

[Logan]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Christ, I've now heard it all. Michelle Wie overrated? She would have finished 13th on the money list this year.

Impressive, huh? Now realize she did that in SEVEN tournaments and she was 15 years old.

No matter who/what/how old the phenom is, there's always gonna be claiming he/she is overrated/sucks/a fluke.

[clintl]

How many other golfers in the history of the game have accomplished what Wie has prior to turning 16? Zero.

She might not have won yet, but she finished second in one major, and had the lead going into the final round of another. The wins will come.

[Subby]

Originally Posted by WrongWay

I wouldn't say that. But, I would say that she is way overated.

Like I said, she can't win on the Men's circuit, she can't win on the women's circuit, and she can't even when on the amateur's circuit.

She had to do something. So why not turn pro why her name was still hot before she started on a losing streak.

WOW, 6th place in a no name tournament. WOOHOO

Every post you write on this board leaves me shaking my head in disbelief. It's like you *try* and come up with the worst angle on something and then cobble together the lamest argument you squeeze out of one of your gaping orifices to defend it. Your board name is spot on though. Mouthbreather would have been good, too.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

I reallt wont say anything about her until she reaches 24, with 8 years I think I can see what kind of character she has and such. Suffice to say with the signing of the contract she officially has earned more money than I ever will, so I guess someone feels she's the real deal.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by Subby

Every post you write on this board leaves me shaking my head in disbelief. It's like you *try* and come up with the worst angle on something and then cobble together the lamest argument you squeeze out of one of your gaping orifices to defend it. Your board name is spot on though. Mouthbreather would have been good, too.

I have some heavy nasal congestion right now.

[Young Drachma]

Johnston, who has spent the last 12 years caddying for Juli Inkster, got into a heated discussion with Bamberger as Wie and her family left Bighorn in a steady rain.

Johnston was bothered that Bamberger, who was at the seventh green when Wie took the drop, waited a day before raising it with tour officials. Had she been notified Saturday before signing her card, she would not have been disqualified.

Bamberger said he paced it off after Wie, playing in the final group Saturday, finished the hole.

"I did it in crude way -- 'Let's see what she has to say.' I was hopeful she could convince me," in the Saturday interview, Bamberger said. "I thought about it more and was just uncomfortable that I knew something. Integrity is at the heart of the game. I don't think she cheated. I think she was just hasty."

Asked why he didn't bring it up before the third round ended, Bamberger said, "That didn't occur to me. I was still in my reporter's mode. I wanted to talk to her first."

So the SI reporter waited a day to tell officials, basically because if he told them yesterday when he saw it, she wouldn't have been disqualified and rules officials said that they just from the video they couldn't have been able to tell whether it was an illegal drop or not.

So, basically this SI reporter is a joke and wanted to create a story. Nice work. Hope he's proud of himself, asshole.

But I think it's a good "welcome to the real world" lesson for Wie, though.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by WrongWay

I wouldn't say that. But, I would say that she is way overated.

Like I said, she can't win on the Men's circuit, she can't win on the women's circuit, and she can't even when on the amateur's circuit.

She had to do something. So why not turn pro why her name was still hot before she started on a losing streak.


WOW, 6th place in a no name tournament. WOOHOO

Wow, you never cease to amaze me.

[WrongWay]

WOW, sen cheats in a tournament, gets thrown out on her but and you are all still comming to her aid? So, right now I still count Zero place finishes for her.

Wie claimed it was only inches, but the Committee quickly corrected her statement saying it was feet. So, I guess she first cheated and then lied about her cheating. Yeah, this is a wonderful person I would want to play with. Any chance Wie is related to Gmac?

If this was an FOF MP League she would be "Banned for Life" from this tournament and all the other MP tournaments.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by WrongWay

WOW, sen cheats in a tournament, gets thrown out on her but and you are all still comming to her aid? So, right now I still count Zero place finishes for her.

Wie claimed it was only inches, but the Committee quickly corrected her statement saying it was feet. So, I guess she first cheated and then lied about her cheating. Yeah, this is a wonderful person I would want to play with. Any chance Wie is related to Gmac?

If this was an FOF MP League she would be "Banned for Life" from this tournament and all the other MP tournaments.

The official who walked out on the course with her and made the ruling that disaqualified her is quoted as saying that the drop was 12-15 inches closer to the hole.

Please explain how this disqualification in any way reflects on her talent or ability to compete?

I have long said that she should have would have been better served playing more junior/amateur events to learn how to close and win, but her talent, her charisma, and her character are undeniable. She has made more money on her first day of work than your are likely to make in a lifetime. Jealous much?

[WrongWay]

Originally Posted by Samdari

She has made more money on her first day of work than your are likely to make in a lifetime. Jealous much?

??? Just how much money did she make for her DQ?

[jeff061]

Whatever her endorsements pay her. Not sure why some people want her to fail so much. I fully admit I expected Lebron James to dissapoint his rookie season, but I still wanted to see him succeed.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by jeff061

20-25 million if I remember correctly. Though not from her DQ.

Yeah - just for showing up 10 times a year.

[jeff061]

Edited that out, 10 million anually it looks like, according to the first post.

Really a bargain for Nike if you ask me, she's an advertisers dream.

[WrongWay]

No, these golfer do not play for free like you are now claiming. I want to know how much money she was paid for her DQ in the tournament? How many points did her DQ earn her on the LPGA? After her first Pro event how what are her earnings and total points? Thanks.



Funny, I play golf about 15 times a year and even I know it is a 2 stroke penalty. She cheated, she got busted for it, and then she lied about cheating afterwards. What a wonderfull person she is. I still think she is related to Gmac and should be banned for life.

[stevew]

Someone in this thread is insane.

[rkmsuf]

3 inches closer? Gawd, give me a break. Golf can be so tedious sometimes.

[WrongWay]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

3 inches closer? Gawd, give me a break. Golf can be so tedious sometimes.

The officails said over a foot.


Hey try a penalty for 0 inches. Yeah, my buddies laughed their asses off when I missed the ball entirely.

[jeff061]

Maybe WrongWay hates Asian women. I can't figure out where all this hostility and desire to see her fail comes from.

[Subby]

This thread needs more Fat Elvis.

[WrongWay]

Originally Posted by jeff061

Maybe WrongWay hates Asian women. I can't figure out where all this hostility and desire to see her fail comes from.

I understood why Anna was competing against Men, but I thought Wei was just there for Publicity BS. She has not won anything on any level!

After that I hated Wei & the BS promoters that had her playing in all those tiny Tournaments just trying to make the cut. After that I wished a Man would get a Sponsors slot on an LPGA tour Event and guarantee that this crap would never happen again.

BTW-- I also have strong feeling about the WNBA too

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by WrongWay

I understood why Anna was competing against Men, but I thought Wei was just there for Publicity BS. She has not won anything on any level!

After that I hated Wei & the BS promoters that had her playing in all those tiny Tournaments just trying to make the cut. After that I wished a Man would get a Sponsors slot on an LPGA tour Event and guarantee that this crap would never happen again.

BTW-- I also have strong feeling about the WNBA too

but Wie is a very, very good player.

[WrongWay]

Now tell me: How did wie get into this tournament?


Also, I forget which Amateur tournament did she win to get her LPGA Pro Card?

[rkmsuf]

It's obvious you've never seen her play or care to which is fine.

I'm not a fan of hers either way but I can acknowledge her skills.

[SirFozzie]

Since Apparently WrongWay isn't reading posts in this thread.

I wouldn't call a invite only tournament with qualifying be so strict that 19 players on the LPGA tour would have made it, (and she would have been the 20th if she had turned pro earlier, because she gave up $650,000 in tournament earnings)..

again, she would have been 13th on the money list, if she had turned pro earlier BEFORE she played SEVEN TOURNAMENTS (the others play about FOUR TIMES THAT

[Pumpy Tudors]

WrongWay has got to be a gimmick account. And not a very funny one, either.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by WrongWay

Now tell me: How did wie get into this tournament?


Also, I forget which Amateur tournament did she win to get her LPGA Pro Card?

Before i would just ignore you and hope you would go away. Now i hope you get banned.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by WrongWay

Now tell me: How did wie get into this tournament?


Also, I forget which Amateur tournament did she win to get her LPGA Pro Card?

Tiger Woods got into many PGA Tour events as an amateur on Sponsor's exemptions, and his first seven events as a pro. In fact, he timed his going pro so that he could play the last 7 events of the season, hoping to earn his tour card during that time (which he did).

EDIT: Wie is not trying to earn full time status next season, the LPGA rules prevent it, and she has no intention of challenging it (next season). She just wants to get paid for the events she does show up at (and get the endorsements obviously). And why not? She is the biggest attraction in women's golf right now.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Since Apparently WrongWay isn't reading posts in this thread.

I wouldn't call a invite only tournament with qualifying be so strict that 19 players on the LPGA tour would have made it, (and she would have been the 20th if she had turned pro earlier, because she gave up $650,000 in tournament earnings)..

again, she would have been 13th on the money list, if she had turned pro earlier BEFORE she played SEVEN TOURNAMENTS (the others play about FOUR TIMES THAT

She has three top fives in LPGA majors to this point as well.

I don't think it's an understatement to say she's the best golfer at the age of 15 (or even 16) ever, male or female.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Samdari

Tiger Woods got into many PGA Tour events as an amateur on Sponsor's exemptions, and his first seven events as a pro. In fact, he timed his going pro so that he could play the last 7 events of the season, hoping to earn his tour card during that time (which he did).

EDIT: Wie is not trying to earn full time status next season, the LPGA rules prevent it, and she has no intention of challenging it (next season). She just wants to get paid for the events she does show up at (and get the endorsements obviously). And why not? She is the biggest attraction in women's golf right now.

Wrong. If she goes to her sponsors exemptions and earns enough, she will earn his card and she'll get it when she's 18. They can't deny her, since she'll have earned it. It'll be deferred just like Ty Tryon's was after he earned his card through q-school as a 17-year old.

Tiger did the same thing related to not trying to go to q-school, but playing events instead to get his card. But he was obviously older, so it was no issue. If the LPGA allowed her to join - and it's hard to think they'd be able to prohibit her, had she challenged the ruling - then she obviously would have no reason to restrict her schedule.

The other problem with her challenging the LPGA rule is this. If she's a tour member, then she can only eshew 2 LPGA events a year for events elsewhere. Meaning that she'd have to cut back or significantly play less men's events and obviously, that's not compatible with what she's trying to do. And who can blame her? You think someone Like Maurice Clarett right now is wishing he'd taken the money and ran? Wie isn't like him, she's a phenom and the real deal. But...what's to say that there is anything wrong with seizing the opportunity while your star is bright?

Forget the "morals" of it, because the majority of us knows if someone is offering us money on potential, we'd take it.

Morgan Pressel tried to get an early exemption and they said no. But her situation is a little different, if only because save for her finish at the Women's Open, she has done what Wie did, not that she's a slouch (Pressel) by any stretch.

[Young Drachma]

I read someplace that if Wie qualified for the women's world golf ranking (she is 2 events short..not that it would count, since she wasn't a pro then) she'd be #2. I don't know that to be true, but...she would've been 13th on the money list up to this week and that's in less than 10 events. Can you imagine her in a full schedule?

You think she couldn't win an event on the LPGA tour some random week, if she wasn't jet setting the country in random men's events? Yeah right. She's just trying to mix it up now and so...why not? Dislike it if you want or even think she's a talentless hack when she's obviously not.

You can't fault her ability and potential. And too many folks are going to benefit from this cash cow for a long time, so they've all got an interest in making sure she doesn't flame out. Remember that.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Wrong.

No, I am not wrong about her trying to earn her card on exemptions this year. She has burned through most of them as an amateur (unless she gets another 7 due to turning pro, which think is not the case) and is very unlikely to earn it this year.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by WrongWay

Now tell me: How did wie get into this tournament?


Also, I forget which Amateur tournament did she win to get her LPGA Pro Card?

Sponsors exemption. She played in the tournament last year, too. Grace Park, who did pretty well for the first few days, was given a sponsors exemption as an amateur in the 90s too, so there is precedent. Samsung is a Korean company, both girls are of Korean descent. You do the math.

Speaking of sponsors exemption, she's the first amateur in history to get an exemption to the LPGA Championship. She finished 2nd.

Now go ahead and babble endless some more.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Samdari

No, I am not wrong about her trying to earn her card on exemptions this year. She has burned through most of them as an amateur (unless she gets another 7 due to turning pro, which think is not the case) and is very unlikely to earn it this year.

I misread what you were saying, but...

She wasn't trying to earn her card this year. By all accounts, her deciding to go pro was largely because Paula Creamer and then Morgan Pressel both decided they were going to (or did) turn pro. Brittany Lang did it too. She had to do it sooner or risk getting injured or having some sort of problems. She had to cash in. Real deal or not, too risky to give it up.

She couldn't earn her card, because she was an amateur. If they counted her record for tournies this year as an amateur, she'd have earned her card and gotten all the money she earned in tournies she played - something close to $700,000. She'll start trying to earn her card next year, since her exemptions start over.

But obviously, her schedule would've been different, had she been actually wanting to go pro from the start this year. But I think it was a decision borne out of what happened with other people on the tour.

[WrongWay]

Originally Posted by stevew

Before i would just ignore you and hope you would go away. Now i hope you get banned.

Banned for saying Wie is a cheater???

Funny I just saw her get thrown out of a tournament for doing just that??