This week’s National Post column is up, discussing why Michelle Wie has been given an exemption into the field. It is partially due to an abundance of exemptions — 16 in all — and partially because of her John Daly-like appeal.
Here’s a taste:
Michelle Wie may be coming to Canada in August. But with Wie’s career in tatters, and with her advisers making one mistake after another, does anyone still care?
The answer, according to the Royal Canadian Golf Association, is an unqualified yes. The RCGA extended a sponsor’s exemption to Wie in February in the hope the Hawaiian teen would make an appearance at the CN Canadian Women’s Open when it travels to Ottawa next month. She accepted earlier this week.
Last year was a write-off for Wie, who many around her had expected to emerge as the female version of Tiger Woods. Hurt from the start, Wie decided to continue playing throughout 2007 despite two wrist injuries that devastated her game, leaving her a hollow shell of the player she had been only months earlier. Even with the injuries, her parents and business agents continued to drag her out like some sideshow freak at golf tournaments, though she had no chance of being competitive.
The full column is here.
A bestselling author and award-winning columnist, Robert Thompson has been writing about business and sports, and particularly golf, for almost two decades. His reporting and commentary on golf has appeared in 
Dear Poor Taste: I didn’t call Michelle Wie a circus freak. I said “Even with the injuries, her parents and business agents continued to drag her out like some sideshow freak at golf tournaments, though she had no chance of being competitive.”
Notice the use of the word “like.” It is a written technique called “simile” which is apparently beyond your comprehension. It is a comparison using “like or as.” I’m not saying she is a circus freak — just that they treated her like one by parading her out to make tons of cash. Maybe it was a fair trade — that’s what they thought.
As for Gulbis, there is no doubting she is talented, but at the LPGA events I’ve covered, more are there to see her because they recognize her from her swimsuit calendars than from an LPGA event on television.
As for my daughter, she isn’t part of this discussion.
And ignorant — I don’t think I’m the ignorant one in this discussion. Stick up for your opinion — use your own name if you want to add some validity to your perspective.
To be honest, if the LPGA event is held in the GTA, I would probably go see Wie more than any of the Koreans because of her notoriety.
“Why is it okay for you to not use names and make things up…”
Okay, which things did I “make up?” No double standard here. Ever been to an LPGA event? Didn’t think so. Ever spoken to the people in the crowds who follow Gulbis? Didn’t think so. But I have — and while there are some young women who surely respect her for doing exactly what she wants, there are a lot of young men hoping to get their swimsuit calendars autographed after the round.
And your attacks on me without using your name invalidates your criticism in many ways and makes you a coward. Not that I’m surprised….