12/21/24
July 14, 2005
Michelle Wie advances to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur Public Links.: The winner of this matchplay tourney traditionally gets an invite to the Masters, which, given Augusta National's No gIrlZ aLloud policy makes this a potentially very interesting story.
posted by Ufez Jones to golf at 07:40 PM - 25 comments
Ditto. I think the womens and mens tours should be separate (it provides more prizemoney that way for women). However in this case she is stickin' it to the man, which in this case happens to be a bunch of rich, bigoted old rednecks.
posted by owlhouse at 08:00 PM on July 14, 2005
I'd be the first person to happily eat crowe if she wins the whole shebang and gets an exemption to the Master- I'd be thrilled. But I've done enough Wie watching to wait until she's done it to get excited...
posted by hincandenza at 08:30 PM on July 14, 2005
The key word in all this is "traditionally" gets an invite. Hootie (or however it is spelled) has already changed the rules about how you get into the Masters. They changed the rule about winning a tournament gets you in. You can bet the mortgage that if Michelle Wie wins, she won't get an invite. It will be just like the Nascar rule book. The rules just changed. The only way a woman is going to play in Augusta is if Hootie dies. Remember, you heard it here first.
posted by dbt302 at 08:33 PM on July 14, 2005
happily eat crowe Russell will be so pleased.
posted by yerfatma at 08:48 PM on July 14, 2005
Yeah. She's not exactly playing against chopped liver here; some of the college guys she is playing against are good. So odds are not great she'll win. But hell... it would be great to see her stick it to the Masters. [If the invite isn't automatic, I'm sure the betting in England over whether or not she gets an invite if she wins will be exciting.]
posted by tieguy at 08:52 PM on July 14, 2005
Hootie Johnson has said that Michelle Wie can play in the Masters if she qualifies. He's still a dick, but I'm just saying.
posted by 86 at 10:15 PM on July 14, 2005
I called him a dick so I feel the need to post this now... I was looking for the quote about Hootie allowing Wie to play if she qualifies and came across this... If William "Hootie" Johnson died today, he would be thought of by millions as a misogynist hick with an absurd nickname, a troglodyte who stubbornly refused to allow women into the richest, toniest, most exclusive golf country club in America. Forgotten would be a lifetime rich in productive achievement and social activism. A successful banker, Johnson has overseen the donation of $15 million in charity over the past five years. He supported black legislators well before any of his contemporaries did; helped to integrate South Carolina's universities in 1968; worked behind the scenes to admit the first black member of ANGC in 1990; was a board member of the National Urban League and a trustee of Benedict College (an historic black institution). According to former South Carolina governor Jim Hodges, Johnson was the first businessman to lobby for the removal of the confederate flag from the state's capitol. All that other stuff makes him much less of a dick. I still think they should change their men-only policy.
posted by 86 at 10:27 PM on July 14, 2005
If women should be able to join Augusta, then I want to join Women's Workout World.
posted by panteeze at 10:36 PM on July 14, 2005
You'd fit in better at the Special Olympics, panteeze.
posted by dusted at 10:41 PM on July 14, 2005
From the article itself: "Augusta National traditionally invites the winner of the Public Links to the Masters, and chairman Hootie Johnson has said the all-male club would welcome Wie or any other female who qualified." I can hear the tone of voice he used though - the tone that was actually saying: "Augusta National traditionally invites the winner of the Public Links to the Masters, and chairman Hootie Johnson has said the all-male club would welcome Wie or any other female who qualified... because we're so certain of their inferiority that we know no woman will ever manage to qualify." I agree with what Tiger said about Wie (and other young stars), that she (they) should learn to win consistently at her own level before she starts trying for the next level - that ensures that you learn to win, but also that you don't miss out on anything. In this instance though, I hope she wins this and plays at Augusta - were she to do so, who knows what kind of knock-on effect it would have.
posted by JJ at 04:09 AM on July 15, 2005
He says they'll admit her if she wins. Give the poor bloke a break.
posted by squealy at 05:37 AM on July 15, 2005
Looks like all this discussion is moot- down 4 after 6 right now.
posted by tieguy at 08:18 AM on July 15, 2005
It's match play, anything can happen.
posted by YukonGold at 08:59 AM on July 15, 2005
Also, in making it to the round of 8 she has an automatic exemption into PubLinks next year.
posted by YukonGold at 09:00 AM on July 15, 2005
Down 5 after 12. Meaning her opponent, who has 5 birdies and one bogey, will have to be outplayed a stroke per hole by Wie, who was 2 bogeys and 0 birdies. She hasn't played bad, but no birdies? That's surprising... stuff like a 3 on a par 2 164yd says she probably nailed the green, then promptly rimmed the cup on her put... again. I'm telling you guys, like I did in our last Wie thread, this girl may be only 15, but she has an almost Greg Norman-like quality about her already, a zen-like mystical way of taking her game down a notch when it counts. I suppose instead of "The Shark", she'll be known as "the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a". I'd be happy to be wrong eventually, but I guess I'm irked by the Wie promise that continues to be so teasing, and the Wie hype that hasn't quite yet been deserved. I'd love for her to be a smashing success at an even younger age than Tiger Woods, to see her win a Major before she's out of her teens. But she needs to go down a level or two, until she learns how to take a lead or tie down the home stretch, and just beat the snot out of her opponent, right out of the gates. She's got raw talent, such that she makes me forget she's still only 15 when I lambast her choking skills, but has yet to learn how to push herself to a new level when she's behind, and to do the same when she's ahead. Instead, she's got a 15-year-old "Derek Lowe" face, as Bill Simmons might put it.
posted by hincandenza at 09:39 AM on July 15, 2005
She's done, 5 and 4. Hal, the Lowe face.. that's a low blow. But yeah, she needs to learn to win at the appropriate level before stretching too far.
posted by tieguy at 09:53 AM on July 15, 2005
So are we already assuming that she'll never learn to win? She might be six foot tall and be able to drive 280, but she can't drive a car legally yet. Almost every great champion in any discipline lost before they learned how to win better. You need to learn how to lose before you can learn how to Not Lose. Defeat is something that needs to be overcome. Wie is taking on that struggle to transcend defeat earlier than even most champions. If she's still at this level in ten years, when she'll be all of 25, then I'll buy your argument. But I will bet evey dollar I make between now and then that she won't be.
posted by chicobangs at 10:03 AM on July 15, 2005
this girl may be only 15, but she has an almost Greg Norman-like quality about her already And you're approaching a Larry King-like level of overstatement.
posted by yerfatma at 10:39 AM on July 15, 2005
a zen-like mystical way of taking her game down a notch when it counts Wow, it's pretty remarkable that you can continue to tear down a 15 year old for not accomplishing a task that no one before her has even had the opportunity to try, nevermind succeed. You probably even agree with the Marc O'Hair guide to building a champion she's got a 15-year-old "Derek Lowe" face And, you clearly don't even know what the "Derek Lowe" face is. She doesn't huff and puff and throw clubs (from my experience...she may have thrown a club in her lifetime). She doesn't pull her hat over her face everytime adversity rears it's ugly head. Wie acts twice her age both on the course and in front of the cameras. That's not the Derek Lowe face. Come up with something that actually works.
posted by YukonGold at 11:40 AM on July 15, 2005
ESPN has decided to make everything you want Insider now, so here is the Derek Lowe Face definition for future reference
posted by YukonGold at 11:48 AM on July 15, 2005
I hope she turns out like Roger Federer, whose mental game was a couple of years behind his incredible physical gifts. Like everyone else is saying, let's see her crush the field in some contests with her peers--maybe that'll help her develop that kill-or-be-killed mentality so helpful in later rounds.
posted by Uncle Toby at 11:52 AM on July 15, 2005
Her talent will make it so she won't be able to not win. Tiger found that groove a couple years after Stanford. Everyone just relax and enjoy watching a once in a lifetime phenom blossom. She's going to be really, really dominant in a few years. On the women's tour.
posted by smithnyiu at 11:57 AM on July 15, 2005
I think she's proven she can play with her peers 2001 - Winner Hawaii State Womens Amatuer 2002 - Winner Hawaii State Womens Open, Runner-up USGA Women's Public Links 2003 - Fourth Hawaii State Mens Amatuer, Winner USGA Women's Public Links 2004 - Fourth Kraft Nabisco Championship, Curtis Cup member 2005 - Runner-up LPGA Championship I hope she can continue to play in Men's events. She brings a lot of excitement to the game and if she can qualify and play in events on the PGA tour why shouldn't she. Saying that she'll be dominant on the LPGA is clearly a distinct possibility but along with Sorenstam will most likely continue to compete in USGA/PGA events outside of the women's circuit
posted by YukonGold at 12:15 PM on July 15, 2005
Do I have to say it, again...?
posted by the red terror at 02:17 PM on July 15, 2005
For once I'll feel absolutely zero guilt, zero second-guessing, zero-anything about rooting for someone just because she's a girl. Rock on, Michelle.