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Wie delivered wins,
zingers at Publinx

IT came from the Internet, so I didn't write it. I can't claim it. But I have to steal it.

As Michelle Wie eliminated yet another competitor in match play, some anonymous comedian out in cyberspace let loose with: "Who's up next on the U.S. Amateur Public Links Emasculation Tour 2005?"

Zing!

And that's part of the equation, isn't it?

Before she started on her Public Links run, some nameless "source," when talking about Wie's chances at making the Masters through this route, opined that now she was about to learn a thing or two about "gamesmanship." (As if her opponents might yell "Noonan!" or something.)

But the gamesmanship was stacked the other way. This was her element, completely. It seems like some of these poor suckers never had a chance.

Against girls her own age -- and now even against LPGA pros -- the pressure is on Wie to perform.

At men's pro events the scale doesn't tip in either direction. PGA Tour players just don't care. They're playing for their paychecks. If they let something as little as a girl in the field bother them, in the words of Jerry Glanville, they'll be bagging groceries.

It's at this level -- and in match play -- where the weight of the crowd, the cameras, the pressure of losing to a 15-year-old girl, and then there she is (just like on TV!), and the next thing you know, as one victim said, well, at least you can tell your grandchildren about this.

Throw in the fact that Wie was red-hot through most of the run, and came through in the clutch, and answered every question -- well ... who's next?

» We'll never know if Wie would have received a Masters invitation had she won it all. But I'm waiting to see if Hootie gives one to the guy who knocked her out.

» This Amateur Public Links was everything I've ever asked of Michelle Wie. She qualified. She took on all comers. She played to win. I loved it. It was great. I don't see how anyone could complain.

» But someone did. A guy in the field (before his early exit) said if Wie could play this event, men should be able to play in women's tournaments, too.

"He can," she said. "He just has to get a sex change."

You can see why she thinks this is more fun. Against women she'd be just another great young golfer. With men, she has a chance to be the king of zing.