ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michelle Wie lines up her putt on the sixth hole of the final round of play in the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship in Stockbridge, Ga., Sunday.
It’s back to school
for ‘Big Wiesy’
STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. >> Time to put down the golf clubs and grab those schoolbooks. Michelle Wie has, like, a math test to take.
As the eighth-grader at Punahou is prone to say, that's cool.
Wie is content to give women's golf a handful of tantalizing glimpses each year -- at least until she's 18, even longer if she follows through on her plans to attend college.
She's still more than six months away from her 14th birthday, holding the future of the sport in her grasp even as she pauses to watch "S Club 7" (the televised adventures of a British pop group) or listen to a rap CD by 50 Cent.
The Honolulu resident has played in two LPGA events this year, more than holding her own against women two, three, even four times her age. She tied for ninth at the first major of the year, the Kraft Nabisco Championship. She followed up this past weekend with a solid 3-under 213 at the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship south of Atlanta, making the cut against a strong field.
Wie could join the tour tomorrow and probably be one of the better players. But she has no desire to speed up the learning curve, willingly settling for the LPGA's allotment of six events each year.
"I think six times is OK for me now," Wie said. "I may get sick of it if I played every week out here."
This way, she's having the time of her life.
Already 6 feet tall, the young Hawaii teen's smooth, powerful swing has drawn comparisons to Ernie Els. Big Easy, meet the Big Wiesy.
No one on the women's tour hits the ball as far or as high as Wie, who didn't hesitate trying to drive the green on the 306-yard seventh hole at Eagles Landing Country Club. Everyone else laid up.
"If you didn't see who was swinging, and you saw the ball take off, you'd think a man hit it," Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez said. "The ball is so hot coming off the face, and the flight is so high."
Wie is definitely intrigued by the idea of following Annika Sorenstam to the PGA Tour. Sorenstam will play in the Colonial next month, a groundbreaking event that may be a precursor to Wie's own career plans.
"Sure," she said. "Why not?"
Even now, according to her father, Wie is more comfortable teeing up with men. She's signed to play a Canadian Tour event this summer and doesn't hide her desire to make a run at the Masters through one of the amateur qualifying events.
"She watches how the men play," B.J. Wie, who is also Michelle's caddy, said. "She listens to the sound of the club head, the way the ball sounds. Instinctively, she tries to keep up with them. It will help Michelle get better playing with men. She plays like they play. She likes to be more aggressive. She doesn't mind going into the rough if she's 100 yards ahead of everyone else."
Wie's coach, Gary Gilchrist, said his star pupil already has a club speed that measures up to players on the PGA Tour. She's a good 15 percent quicker than those she competed with in the Chick-fil-A.
"She has those long arms, and she can really coil the body," Gilchrist said. "The other thing that helps is her technique is very good. She has great fundamentals. When everything is in sync, she can really hit it far."
There's still some things to work on. Wie doesn't have the time -- and there's really no need at this point -- to take up a strenuous training program like golfers who play for a living. Admittedly, the youngster tired out on a bit Sunday in warm, humid temperatures.
Wie comes from a family that values education and she wants to attend Stanford (where her hero, a guy named Tiger Woods, once played). Of course, those plans could change over the next 4 1/2 years.
"What if she wins an LPGA event when she's 14 or 15?" Gilchrist said. "I believe she already has the game to win a major with a good week. If she does, what happens then? You have to have more than one game plan."
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Wie's 2003 LPGA schedule
Kraft Nabisco Championship
March 27-30, Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Tied for ninth
72-74-66-76 -- 288, even par
Chick-Fil-A Charity Championship
Last week, Stockbridge, Ga.
Tied for 33rd
72-70-71 -- 213, 3 under
ShopRite Classic
June 27-29, Galloway Township, N.J.
Jamie Farr Kroger Classic
Aug. 14-17, Sylvania, Ohio
Safeway Classic
Sept. 26-28, Portland, Ore.
C.J. Nine Bridges Classic
Oct. 16-19, Jeju Island, South Korea
