Michelle Wie Has A Hard Time
It seems like the majority of people are hoping that Michelle Wie will take a break after the McDonald’s LPGA Championship. After injuring her wrists, Wie is finding it difficult to follow closely in the tournaments. She is finding that she is shooting more into the rough then she wants to and having a hard enough time trying to get it back out again. Not to mention she is having to call out her massage therapist in-between rounds.
Everyone is in agreement that she needs to take a break and relax for awhile. Not only does she need to let her wrist heal, but she needs a break mentally. She used to smile and laugh and play like she was having a blast. She positively lit up a room. Now, when she smiles at all, it seems forced, nervous. And when you watch her on the golf course, trailed by her ever-present entourage of parents, business manager, agent, media and various hangers-on, Wie sometimes looks like a railroad engine struggling to pull the $19 million-a-year Money Train.
The young girl is not having fun these days and she is slowly understanding this. You didn’t get to see it yesterday because it didn’t quite make the Golf Channel. But about 11:30 a.m., almost three hours before the leaders even teed off in the final round of the McDonald’s LPGA Championship, Wie sank a clutch eight-footer on the 18th hole to save bogey and finish at 79.
Good as that putt was, Wie still finished at 21 over par for the week, in 84th place, dead last by 10 shots among those who made the cut. This from a player who finished tied for fifth here last year and finished alone in second the year before that. When yesterday’s round was over, Wie immediately faced questions about the condition of her injured wrist. That’s understandable, because it bothered her so much during Saturday’s third round, there was some question about whether she would even play yesterday.
“I don’t really know,” Wie said Saturday. “Just have to see how it goes tonight.” She did play, obviously, albeit not so great, and faced more questions afterward. She mouthed the same answers she did all week: Her return is a work in progress and she’s got to be patient with herself as she heals and recaptures her game.
When somebody asked her if maybe she rushed things in returning to action, Wie said, “I think it was a good decision, but also maybe a couple of weeks too early.” So, then, does that mean she’s going home to get totally healed once and for all? Don’t bet on it. “I’m going to New York for a couple of days and then I’m going down to Orlando, [Fla.],” the 17-year-old said. “Just work on it. It’ll be good to get a lot of rounds in.”