My latest column, in today’s National Post, is about the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open and its need to invite Michelle Wie to its event this week. Now I don’t think Wie should have gotten an invite, but I understand why the tournament determined it needed to bring her there.
Michelle Wie may not have played in last week’s RBC Canadian Open, but in a roundabout way, the Hawaiian teen is linked to the tournament and others like it.
Wie will play in the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open today, one of a handful of tournaments the PGA Tour runs that conflicts with an existing and much stronger event — in this case the Bridgestone Invitational.
Want to see a tournament get completely overshadowed? The PGA Tour’s Web site has a huge promo piece for the Bridgestone, with a tiny plug for Reno-Tahoe nearby. The latter event is like the PGA Tour’s ugly stepchild, brought out of the closet to fill up time between Golf Channel infomercials.
That generally means the Reno-Tahoe event will attract a smattering of ageing, often struggling veterans (Larry Mize), those who can’t get in other events (Notah Begay III) and young players who have yet to make their mark yet (Nick Flanagan).
The full column is here. For the record, I think she has a 5% chance of making the cut.
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 
While I can understand where you are coming from another column and might have defended Michelle myself for the last few years, I don’t feel the same way anymore. To me the real story here is that she is skipping a MAJOR to play against the men at the Reno Tahoe. This is a young woman who has not won anything yet. Nothing. She has not competed against and proven she can beat her peers, she has not shown she can bring a win home in the final stretch, she has never shown she can stand up to the pressure it takes to be a champion. For someone with her record to piss on the womens’ British Open on her own tour and go play in this other tournament is beyond bad judgement, it’s incredibly stupid. Keep it in mind that this is not Annika with an incredible record of dominance, this is a young woman who has achieved nothing but a lucrative contract.
Did she qualify for the Women’s British? Obviously, she didn’t care to go through qualifying, but did her world ranking/position on money list get her into the event.
I am a fan of Michelle Wie.
I have observed that:
1. many people like and support Michelle no matter what
2.many people changed their support of Wie after her failures…and mistakes.
3.some people are making money and support their own cause using stories around Wie
4.some people are just jealous of Wie making money while not yet achieving much
To me, true fan is #1. Others may change their mind and support depending on the performance.
People under #2 are typical majority and they are no different from many around them. It is the easiest kind to be… change side whenever it is convenient or easy for them. No loyalty.
Golf Channel and many journalists and Nike may fall under #3
People under #2 usually share some of the characters of #4.
I feel good in that i can support Michele without having any conflict of interests and I am certain she will come through someday….I want to be true fan of Michelle Wie and I am.
i think part of it is she took the free ride into the PGA tour rather than try and qualify and earn her way into the British.
Hey J Kang,
Why are you such a fan of Michelle Wie? she has done nothing. Why would you be a fan of somebody who has achieved absolutely nothing at all????? You may as well be a fan of a bum in the street, or Joe Average walking down the sidewalk. Dreams are great, but her big dreams are actually a long drawn-out boring nightmare for the rest of us.
I think coming within a stroke of making the cut on a PGA tour event as a girl teenager qualifies as “having done something”. In fact in 2003, she became the youngest player to make a cut in an LPGA event at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, shooting a 66 in the 3rd round, tying the amateur record for a women’s major championship, and placing her in the final group alongside Annika Sörenstam and eventual winner, Patricia Meunier-Lebouc. A few months later, Wie earned a historic victory at the Women’s Amateur Public Links tournament, becoming the youngest person ever, male or female, to win a USGA adult event. She also became the youngest player to make the cut in the history of the US Women’s Open, where she placed 39th.
Not exactly your “Joe Average” or bum in the street. She seems to have “done something”…
I’m a fan but disappointed at her choices in developing her game. She definitely could have developed or followed a better path. Her weaknesses are definitely shown with her poor showings coming down the stretch when she was playing well a few years ago. I’ll excuse the injury last year. This year, she’s been more solid and EARNED her way into the US Open through qualifying.
Supporting someone win or loose is the definition of a fan. How many Leaf fans are still out there? We all joke they are a bunch of “bums” cause they haven’t won in the past 41 years. I’m not a Leafs fan anymore, but deep down, there’s still a small attachment left. Wake me up when they make it through the 1st round of a playoffs, I’m sure I’ll be “back”.
on the other hand, win or loose, I still back the Raptors and the Jays….and for now, still MW
Quote: Want to see a tournament get completely overshadowed? The PGA Tour’s Web site has a huge promo piece for the Bridgestone, with a tiny plug for Reno-Tahoe nearby. The latter event is like the PGA Tour’s ugly stepchild, brought out of the closet to fill up time between Golf Channel infomercials: End Quote
I went to The Golf Channel and PGA.com’s websites – both rather prominent golf sites, and both feature Wie as the head liner.