Why Wie wows

No tripping into traps in a round with the pros

NEWPORT, R.I. » It was the Michelle Wie Show again yesterday, and she was at her very best.

No, the Punahou student/golf phenom didn't shoot 8 under in her daily nine holes of practice for the U.S. Women's Open, which starts tomorrow here at Newport Country Club.

This was even better than a putting contest with John Daly. This was her pre-tournament "news" conference.

WHY WIE WOWS A sampling of Michelle Wie's thoughts from yesterday's interview at the U.S. Women's Open, which begins tomorrow: She's a Hawaii girl at heart: "I have a lot of sense of pride being from Hawaii, and when they read the card on the first tee, 'Michelle Wie from Honolulu, Hawaii. It's just a great feeling to hear that." On Phil Mickelson's U.S. Open collapse: "I totally related to him. It's kind of happened to me before. It's kind of like almost watching me." On more young girls taking up the game: "I think that girls are starting to realize that we can throw out our Barbies and start playing sports."

Two days before each event, Wie plays to a full house as reporters from around the world gather to listen to the teenager's thoughts on everything from saving par to saving the world.

Once in a while it goes awry, like last year when Wie failed a geometry pop quiz from a reporter who then determined the lass had not dropped a ball correctly, punishable by disqualification.

But that was a post-round interview session when the talk is mostly about golf. Pretty much any subject is fair game at the Tuesday Show, and many are repeated (thank goodness she finally got her driver's license).

Yesterday was an example of why Wie makes the big bucks. She's as entertaining with a microphone in her hands as she is with a driver -- and this is a young woman who can knock the ball 300 yards.

She was at turns enlightening and empathetic and always amusing during 30 minutes of Q and A, a huge smile never leaving her face. Here's some of what we learned yesterday:

» Despite all the money, worldwide travel and hype, she's still a Hawaii girl at heart.

"I have a lot of sense of pride being from Hawaii, and when they read the card on the first tee, 'Michelle Wie from Honolulu, Hawaii. It's just a great feeling to hear that."

» She loves Punahou, too, but she is a fashionista, and that Punahou dress code really sucks.

"Well, it's not really a uniform, which is the worst part. If it were a skirt and a tie and a vest thing, I would wear it, because it's a uniform. But we get to wear our own jeans -- it's really weird, we have to wear like a shirt, it's like a regular T-shirt, they have a little Punahou mark on it, and they charge you a lot to buy it. ... Punahou, please, take away the uniform, please, if you hear this."

» She can feel the pain of Phil Mickelson's U.S. Open collapse.

"I totally related to him. It's kind of happened to me before. It's kind of like almost watching me."

» Yes, more young girls are taking up the game.

"I think that girls are starting to realize that we can throw out our Barbies and start playing sports.

"It's not a full-on contact sport. People might think it's a pansy sport. You're walking five miles every day if you're playing 18 holes. I think that's a great way of being fit, and I think a lot of girls realize that. And when you start playing you just get kind of hooked."

» Greatness doesn't always equal happiness.

"I think I'm a great putter. ... And I'm not going to make every single putt, and I'm never going to be really happy with how I putt."

» She hopes the thunderstorms predicted for later this week do not materialize.

"Well (I'm) not that great (in the rain), if the truth be told. I'm a little wuss; I run inside when it starts raining."

» Playing part-time on a lot of different tours is like, you know, writing part-time for a lot of different papers.

"I feel like a freelancer. It almost reminds me of a newspaper, where you have your staff writers and then you also have your freelance writers. I'm like the freelance writer."

» She's getting the hang of how to elude trick questions, such as, "Who do you think is the best player to not yet win a major?"

"I'm not really sure. I haven't kept track of that kind of stuff. ... All I can do, and all any other player can do, is try their hardest and play their hardest. And you never know."