GOLF
Punahou student Michelle Wie, 14, was named World Newcomer of the Year during the Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony yesterday in Lisbon, Portugal.
Wie is honored as
Newcomer of the YearThe 14-year-old is the youngest
athlete to win the Laureus World
Sports Academy award
LISBON, Portugal >> Michelle Wie was honored as Newcomer of the Year by the Laureus World Sports Academy yesterday, the youngest athlete to win one of the awards.
Wie, the 14-year-old Punahou student, played seven times on the LPGA Tour last season, missing the cut only once. She played against the men on the Canadian and Nationwide tours, and her only victory in any event came at the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links, making her the youngest winner of a USGA event for grown-ups.
Another golfer, Annika Sorenstam, was the Sportswoman of the Year.
Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher won Sportsman of the Year for the second time in three years.
In 2003, Sorenstam completed a career Grand Slam on the LPGA Tour and became the first woman to play on the PGA Tour in 58 years, while Schumacher claimed his record sixth Formula One championship.
The prizes were selected in voting by 400 sports journalists from more than 70 countries.
England's rugby team was the World Team of the Year for winning the World Cup, and Austrian skier Hermann Maier took home the Comeback of the Year trophy for winning the overall World Cup title despite a 2001 motorcycle accident that he barely survived.
