There’s More to 16 Than Making a Cut

Can we slow down the canonization of Michelle Wie? For her sake.

The picture last week of Wie being carted off because of heat exhaustion from the men’s pro golf tournament in Silvis, Ill., was worth 1,000 words.

Finally, she had a cocoon of protection from the outside world. Even sportswriters will back off when there are paramedics running interference.

The incident and the imagery are probably different things.

She was hot and ill, and the stretcher and over-the-top medical reaction were all dictated by law and erring on the side of precaution. She also was disappearing out of the furor of the hurricane she lives in, even if for a short time. And if that escape had elements of a relief, who could blame her?

Wie is an incredible talent. The swing is sweet and fluid. Some 40-year-old guy tried to copy her follow-through recently and is expected to be out of traction by mid-August.

She is also a huge attraction. Something called the Davie-Brown Index (DBI), which “evaluates a celebrity’s awareness, appeal and relevance to a brand’s image and their influence on consumer buying behavior,” ranks her as the third-most commercially appealing golfer in the world, after Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

It seems that, to everything and everybody, her time has come. It is now. This season, this minute, this window of opportunity. Time to get it while the getting is good. Hurry up so you won’t be left behind.

Wrong, for two reasons.

One, she is 16. A mature, eager-to-advance 16, but still 16. Wie can buy a mall, but it would be healthier for her if she were still having to ask if she could go.

Two, her sport is golf. There are no career-ending injuries looming, unless they start filling the traps with quicksand. This is not basketball, where the knees go. Or baseball, and bad arms. Or even football, where the cost of body bags is part of the team insurance package.

So many have been complicit.

The tournament directors of the men’s tour events who keep giving her exemptions to play will rationalize that they do so because it is good for the game and for her because of her exceptional talent. Not mentioned is how good it is for them in ticket sales and national awareness.

The sports editors of America, including the old guy who once ran this shop and sent his golf writer to Hawaii for several long stories about Wie, then 14 years old, will rationalize that it is a story and needs to be played big because the readers want it that way. Not mentioned is how often stories are downplayed in the belief that younger athletes are not ready to handle the spotlight. Nor is it mentioned that what readers want isn’t the only gauge of what they get.

Wie’s parents, the ultimate arbiters of this, will rationalize that her talent is special and she has the right to ply it whenever and wherever she wants. Not mentioned is the thrill of those big paychecks and the agony of “tough love” that might bring a slower, more measured path to the big vault in the bank. (See Jennifer Capriati, tennis player.)

The LPGA is where Wie belongs, at least for the moment. It has a rule that says you can’t play more than six of its events until you are 18. Good for the LPGA.

This year, Wie will play six LPGA events, plus the U.S. Women’s and British Women’s opens. She has three of the eight left, the Evian Masters July 26-29, the British Aug. 3-6 and the Samsung World Championship in Palm Desert Oct. 12-15.

Others, such as Morgan Pressel, have petitioned to play full time before turning 18. The LPGA took a look, saw ability and maturity, and said, at age 17, OK.

That would be the likely path for Wie too. LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens certainly couldn’t argue lack of ability. But the forces that are pushing Wie seem to have an obsession with her making the cut in a men’s PGA Tour event. She has tried five times, missed four and left on a stretcher once.

There will be time in the years ahead to try the men’s tour. If her ability and maturity make it a worthwhile effort, why not? No gender barriers should ever be imposed where skills dictate otherwise.

Annika Sorenstam, one of the best ever on the LPGA tour, tried one men’s event, the Colonial in 2003. She had a good time, missed the cut, smiled and said thanks, but never again. She was 32 at the time.

Wie’s incredible gifts may make her ready for the physical and emotional challenges of that long before her 30s.

Just not now. It’s too soon, too much. Plus, there is no real downside in scaling back for a while. She could spend too much time on the cell with her friends, struggle with algebra, maybe even go to college for a couple of years, like Tiger did.

The golf, money and the spotlight will be there, waiting.

Right now, she is 16, and that is fleeting.

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The Wie factor

Michelle Wie’s last victory was in the 2003 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links. She has not made a cut in five PGA Tour events but has 12 top-10 LPGA finishes. Her record on the tours:

*--* PGA TOUR 2004 Sony Open 72-68--140 missed cut by 1 2005 Sony Open 75-74--149 missed but by 7 John Deere Classic 70-71--141 missed cut by 2 2006 Sony Open 79-68--147 missed cut by 4 John Deere Classic 77-WD retired, heat exhaustion LPGA TOUR 2002 LPGA Takefuji 72-74--146 missed cut Classic Asahi Ryokuken 81-75--156 missed cut International Wendy’s 77-75--152 missed cut Championship 2003 Kraft Nabisco 72-74-66-76--288 T-9th Championship Chick-fil-A 72-70-71--213 T-33rd Charity Championship ShopRite Classic 71-72-72--215 T-52nd U.S. Women’s Open 73-73-76-76--298 T-39th Jamie Farr Kroger 73-72--145 missed cut Classic Safeway Classic 69-72-73--214 T-28th CJ Nine Bridges 85-78-70--233 69th Classic 2004 Safeway 72-67-70-77--286 T-19th International Kraft Nabisco 69-72-69-71--281 T-4th Michelob Ultra 72-67-73-72--284 T-12th U.S. Women’s Open 71-70-71-73--285 T-13th Evian Masters 71-71-76-69--287 T-33rd Wendy’s 73-69-71-69--282 T-6th Championship Samsung World 74-72-67-70--283 T-13th Championship 2005 SBS Open 70-70-70--210 T-2nd Safeway 73-67-73-71--284 T-12th International Kraft Nabisco 70-74-73-71--288 T-14th McDonald’s LPGA 69-71-71-69--280 2nd Championship U.S. Women’s Open 69-73-72-82--296 T-23rd Evian Masters 75-70-68-68--281 T-2nd Women’s British 75-67-67-69--278 T-3rd Open Samsung World 70-65-71-74--280* Disqualified Championship 2006 Fields Open 67-70-66--203 3rd ($73,227) Kraft Nabisco 66-71-73-70--280 T-3rd ($108,222) McDonald’s LPGA 71-68-71-72--282 T-5th ($57,464) Championship U.S. Women’s Open 70-72-71-73--286 T-3rd ($156,038) HSBC Women’s l. to Lincicome, 4 and 3 T-5th ($50,000) Match Play

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*Note: In her debut as a pro, Wie was disqualified for taking an illegal drop in the third round.

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Bill Dwyre can be reached at Bill.Dwyre@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Dwyre, go to latimes.com/dwyre.