Now, I am a Michelle Wie Fan

I’m a tough cookie when it comes to standards and expectations, especially when it comes to athletes and sports.  I was very weary about the hype surrounding Michelle Wie when she almost made the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii several years back, then she decided to turn pro. 

I got tired of hearing how great a golfer she was, especially for being 14-years-old and how beautiful her golf swing was to the point they gave her the nickname the “Big Wiesy.” 

I got tired  because in all my years of playing sports in high school and some in junior college and watching sports all my life, it doesn’t matter how talented you are if you don’t have it together in your head, you’ll never win, and you definitely won’t last.  I saw signs that everyone else, including the golf media in its denial couldn’t see, that this kid lacked a certain mental toughness that the great ones have.  They solely focused on her talent.  I understand, focusing on the talent gives you ratings, but sometimes they forget to look at their heart.

  I saw this lack of mental toughness in some of press conferences when she had a bad round or faced adversity and after a couple of disqualifications because of scorecard issues.  Sure enough all the hype ended up catching up with her and the media tide turned and viewed her as an under achiever. 

There was a part of me that said, “See, I told you so,” but there was a part of me that felt sorry for her because I’m a parent of a young girl.  Because Wie was a teen, I was more upset with her parents for letting her play golf professionally at such a young age.  I know it sounds judgmental, but I believe that you need to set boundaries with your children, especially when your child is trying to make such a huge adult decision.  My perception was they didn’t think this all the way through, and Wie’s innocence and optimism about the game deteriorated as a result.

Then she played less and less golf on the LPGA tour because she enrolled into Stanford.  While in her later years at the school she won that elusive breakthrough title at Lorena Ochoa’s event and then when she didn’t go on to win a major or more events, some people were critical of her, but this time I became a supporter of Wie instead of joining the crowd. 

The reason for that was she completed her degree at Stanford.  That is a major achievement.  Think about it, she basically was playing part-time on the tour and she still managed to garner many endorsements, a tour win and played a big role on a Solehim Cup winning team.  We all know there are many players who grind it out full-time on the tour for years and never manage a single win.

She may never be the great player that everyone expects to be, but that shouldn’t matter because she has shown greatness as a person because she’s showing she has it together in her head, that makes her an over achiever.