Golfer Stacy Lewis in Wie’s shadow ... for now

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Lost last week in the shadow and celebrity of women’s golf prodigy Michelle Wie was another golf prodigy, a Texan named Stacy Lewis.

Each played in the LPGA semifinal qualifying event that ended Friday on the Dinah Shore course at Missions Hills in Rancho Mirage, Ca. Each shot a 72-hole total of 280, eight under par.

And each advanced to the December qualifying finals in Florida. Their share of fourth place, behind winner Sun-Ju Ahn of South Korea, was easily good enough to make the cutoff of the top 30 that qualifies for Florida, where tour cards will be awarded for those who play best there.

Lewis played in the same foursome as Wie the last day, topped Wie by two shots with her 69, which included birdies on four of the last six holes for a closing nine of 33, and got much less attention than Wie afterward. Wie, of course, reached celebrity status before her 16th birthday, and the hows and whys of that have been well-documented.

Lewis also has a compelling story.

She suffered from a disease know as scoliosis, curvature of the spine. When she was young, growing up in Woodlands, Texas, she lived with a back brace that she only took off when she played golf. Finally, when she stopped growing, at about 5 feet 5 and 110 pounds at age 18, she was able to undergo the serious surgery to correct a condition that can, if left alone, force internal organs out of place and become life-threatening.

The surgery was successful, and she is actually an inch-and-a-half taller now. But she lives with a rod in her back and the threat of not being able to play as many tournaments as she wants.

Still, she is a determined athlete and has made the jump from a star player at the University of Arkansas, an NCAA champion there, to an immediate contender on the LPGA tour.

That is, if she is able to acquire enough winnings, since turning pro this summer, to hold a regular spot. That’s why she is attempting the qualifying tournament route, even though she has already pocketed, in a few short months this summer, more than enough money to meet the tour’s qualifications.

Confused?

This is how it works: Of the $194,429 she has won, $162,487 was for her startling third-place finish in the Women’s U.S. Open in Minnesota this summer, her first event as a professional. According to LPGA rules, since that event is a USGA-sanctioned tournament, money from that does not count toward the approximate $120,000 she needs to be exempt on the tour next year.

So she will soldier on, to a few more tour stops this fall and, if needed, to the qualifying finals in Florida that her 70-71-70-69 showing at Mission Hills earned her.

In the meantime, she will wave no flags and seek little attention, and proceed with the same independent nature that has gotten her this far.

During the qualifying event at Missions Hills, players were allowed to ride in carts because of the extreme heat. Caddies rode along, and no less than Wie was openly grateful about the carts afterward.

‘It was hot, really hot,’ she said. ‘I just want to get a shower. Thank God for the carts.’

Lewis drove her own cart. Alone. No caddy. No entourage. No dedicated fan base in the gallery, other than those who watched a few holes and realized what a special talent she has.

‘My dad [Dale Lewis] was gonna come and caddy for me,’ she said. ‘He was on the bag for me for the tournaments I played this summer. But he had to head home when Hurricane Ike hit Houston. I certainly understood. First things first. Turned out we didn’t have much damage, just lots of tree branches down.

‘It was no big deal. I’ve played here before and I could handle it.’

You get the feeling that, as the 2009 LPGA Tour rolls along, the name Stacy Lewis might be right alongside the name Michelle Wie when it comes to most-likely-to-succeed newcomer.

-- Bill Dwyre