The 19^th Hole

June 12, 2006

A Wie Bit Short

Last week, Michelle Wie failed in her bid to become the first woman to qualify for the US Open.  With ten holes to play, the Big Wiesy was in good standing and had a great opportunity to qualify.  Her putter and short game let her down, though, and she wound up one over par for the qualifying tournament.  While she was disappointed in the end result, she did make history in the process and took a giant step in proving that she indeed can play with the best golfers in the world – regardless of gender.

This weekend, she returned to her endeavors on the LPGA Tour in their second major of the season at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship.  After a mediocre first two rounds, Wie found herself in contention with a solid Saturday round.  For the second straight year, Wie had a chance to take her first victory at the LPGA Championship.

Again, though, Wie’s game failed to deliver at key times.  On Sunday, though, it was not her short game that most let her down coming home in contention.  It was her short iron play, particularly her wedges, that was atrocious under pressure.  On three separate occasions, Wie made severe mistakes with wedge approach shots that took her from making birdies to making bogies.

Had Wie been able to compose herself with her wedges and hit the shots that everyone knows she can, Se Ri Pak would never have had a chance to win the LPGA Championship.  Wie knows it, too.  You could sense it with the look of exasperation on 18 on Sunday after she tapped in her bogey to finish in a tie for fifth place.  A major championship, and the win to get all of the critics to shut up, was within her grasp and she let it slip through her fingers.

Is it now appropriate for those critical voices to get a little bit louder?  After all, Wie has another top 5 finish in a LPGA Tour major.  She has been in serious contention in 4 of the last five major championships and has come up empty handed in all of them.  Eventually, if she is to rise to her potential, Wiesy will have to put it all together during a Sunday back nine and capture a championship.  Although she is just 16 years old, she has had enough tantalizing experiences with glory that even the most staunch Wie supporters are likely to get a little bit antsy.

I’m one of those people.  I continue to believe that it is only a matter of time before Michelle Wie wins and opens the flood gates of dominance that will propel her to golfing greatness.  On top of that, with her close calls in the past seven days, it seems like Wie has never been closer to breaking through than she is now.  There is only so long, though, that I can continue to await greatness before I should come to expect it. 

Like it or not, Michelle Wie is one of the top three best players on the LPGA Tour right now.  And that’s not only because the bogus Women’s World Golf Rankings say so.  With that reality in mind, there should be larger expectations weighing on an acknowledged A-list golfer.  Among those expectations are that she will win from time to time in addition to contending regularly.  Wie has done half of her part – it is almost automatic that she is on the first page of the leaderboard in every LPGA event that she plays.  Now she has to come through and prove her stature by winning.  The same chatter followed Cristie Kerr, and Michelle Wie will continue to face it until she breaks out like Cristie did.

The good news is that Wie has another opportunity to shine in two weeks on the biggest stage in women’s golf – the Women’s US Open.  After a disappointing final round last year and two tough setbacks in June already, Wie will likely look for redemption at Newport.  I have no doubt that she will be in contention on Sunday, but I wonder if Wie doubts that the trophy is hers for the taking.

Ryan Ballengee is host of The 19^th Hole Golf Show, found at The Golf Newsnet.com.  You can also get The 19^th Hole on the go through podcasting by clicking here Feedburner.com - The 19th Hole Golf Show.  Contact Ryan via e-mail at the19thholeshow@hotmail.com.

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