Wie Makes Strong First Impression

Last week, she took all four of her semester exams -- geometry, biology, Japanese and social studies -- so she could concentrate on golf. And come next Monday, after she plays in the PGA Tour’s Sony Open, Michelle Wie already has her schedule down.

“It’s video game week,” she said. “I’m going to play until my thumbs hurt.”

Wie’s coming-out party got off to a rollicking start Tuesday morning at Waialae Country Club when she played a practice round with Ernie Els, who is not only 20 years older than the 14-year-old Wie but also a winner of three majors who turned pro in 1989 -- the same year Wie was born.

The Big Easy and the Big Wiesy figured they were both about two under in their practice round, which was followed by a lively gallery that formed a backdrop for an Els-Wie mutual admiration society.

Els wowed Wie, especially with his length off the tee, but her level of appreciation for the skills of the world’s third-ranked player could not compare to how much Els was impressed by the ninth-grader.

“To be honest with you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a lady golfer swing the club as good as Michelle does,” Els said.

Not even Annika Sorenstam, already in the LPGA Hall of Fame and golf’s top female pro?

“Annika, obviously, swings it great, but I think when Michelle gets down into her stride, she’s going to be hitting the ball as long as any woman has hit it before,” he said. “All the talent in the world. It’s just going to be a matter of time [until] the golfing world will really have to watch out. She’s got it all.

“You know, I was lucky enough to be around when Tiger Woods came out. I think Michelle, a lot of what she did today reminds me a lot of what Tiger used to do. As a woman golfer, she’s going to take it to the next level, definitely.”

Right now, Wie has one more day for yet another practice round at leafy, green Waialae, where she has played five times a week since November. Then Thursday she will become the first teenage girl to tee it up against the male pros in a PGA Tour event.

Wie plays the first two rounds in a group with Craig Bowden, a 35-year-old Nationwide Tour veteran, and Kevin Hayashi of Hilo.

“I think I’m pretty much ready,” she told a roomful of writers and TV reporters in a media session carried live by the Golf Channel. “Playing the way I am right now, I think I have a good chance.”

Wie is one of four sponsor’s exemptions in the $4.8-million event where Els is the defending champion. As an amateur, Wie isn’t in line for any cash. However, her entry is not without at least a hint of controversy because of her status as a sponsor’s exemption.

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem voiced a small concern about the sponsor’s exemption process, which is what Sorenstam followed at last year’s Colonial and also how Wie entered this week’s event. He said Sorenstam’s play at Colonial created interest in her among casual fans as well as girls who are thinking about taking up golf.

“I think Michelle Wie could have some of the same impact,” Finchem said before adding something of a disclaimer.

“Whether it’s a good thing to have a steady diet of individuals who are invited to play in tournaments and given sponsor exemptions [and] who would not be competitive, that’s a different issue.”

By competitive, Finchem said he means someone who has the ability to become an exempt player at some point, not someone who might make a cut sometime.

“It’s not about gender,” he said. “This is about competitive levels. Annika’s situation, I suppose you could argue, if she played every week [on the PGA Tour], would she eventually become an exempt player, how many cuts would she make, nobody knows until the player goes out and does it. It’s an argument that cannot be won.”

Finchem said he wanted to emphasize the positive effect of Wie’s playing this week.

Wie sounded as if she planned to satisfy Finchem’s “competitive” definition. She said her goal is to play the PGA Tour and considers it attainable.

“If I still want to do it, I will do it,” she said. “I’m not saying that I’m playing here so that other women should play in men’s tournaments. I think I’m just kind of the oddball here. I just want to play in the men’s tournament. The time is changing. Our state, for one, our governor is a woman. Linda Lingle. And I think women are rising.

“I think just because I’m playing in a men’s tournament doesn’t mean that it should become a trend, but it’s just what I’m doing as my hobby, what I want to do.”