[GOLF]

ASSOCIATED PRESS Caddie and father B.J. Wie talked with Michelle Wie on the tee on the 9th hole during the Wendy's Championship yesterday. Wie birdied the hole and finished the day with a 75.

Wie travels the country
collecting experiences

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Associated Press

DUBLIN, Ohio >> Another busy day in the life of 12-year-old Michelle Wie:

She shot a 75, missed the cut in an LPGA Tour event, moved 24 hours closer to visiting Disney World, and took another lesson in what it's like to be a working adult on the pro golf tour.

"I should just wear a sign: 'I am 12,"' Michelle said yesterday after playing in the second round of the Wendy's Championship.

Her age sets her apart, but she is different in other ways.

Reigning U.S. Women's Open champion Juli Inkster has a 12-year-old daughter of her own, Haley.

Not long ago, Inkster saw Michelle chipping and putting on a hot day and said to her caddie, "Can you see Haley out there? She would say, 'Can I go to the pool now?"'

Michelle played in her third LPGA tournament a month before she starts the eighth grade at Punahou. There were bright spots -- she birdied three of the last six holes yesterday -- and also some not-so-bright ones: She was assessed a two-stroke penalty for slow play.

"She had a little bit tricky chip shot and she wanted to spend a little more time, but apparently she exceeded the 30 seconds," said her father, B.J., a transportation professor at the University of Hawaii. He's also his daughter's caddie.

"I think this is a really good experience," he said. "I appreciate the LPGA official doing that because Michelle has to experience this penalty for slow play at an early age when she's not playing for money."

The Wies -- Michelle, her father and her mother, Bo -- have spent this summer on the road. It has been filled with golf, plenty of nights in hotels, sightseeing and priceless experiences.

They went to Oregon for the Women's Public Links, to Lincoln, Neb., for the Transnational, to Akron for a junior PGA championship and to New Jersey for a USGA tournament. Next up is a flight to Orlando tomorrow for a week of training and conditioning at the Leadbetter School, capped by a trip to Disney World and Universal Studios.

The family then returns home in time for Michelle's first day of classes, Aug. 24.

The summer was meant to be fun, and it has been. But the lengthy trip was also intended to introduce Michelle to the life of a pro golfer.

LPGA rules prevent anyone from playing on tour full-time until their 18th birthday.

Asked when his daughter might join the tour, B.J. Wie said, "After college. Definitely after college. My feeling is that what she has experienced on the tour -- she's played three times this year -- is not appropriate for a young, 18-year-old or 20-year-old girl."

When Michelle writes "How I Spent My Summer Vacation," she can say she met some of the greatest players in the world.

"Juli Inkster, Lorie Kane, Betsy King, all the famous golfers," her father said. "I introduce her. They're always nice to her. They give her a lot of encouragement for what she's been doing, and some good advice."

Inkster's only concern is that Michelle's adventure might be too much too soon.

"I just hope she doesn't get burned out," Inkster said. "I hope she enjoys the game and keeps after it, that she still has the passion when she's 22. That's a long time. That's 10 years. I just hope they don't push her, that they just let her do what she wants to do."