The Michelle Wie Backlash Continues

The backlash against Michelle Wie began last summer when Michelle Wie pulled out of the John Deere Classic tournament early instead of finishing it. Many felt Wie pulled out of the tournament early so she would not finish with an even lower score than she already had that would damage her image. Many golfers were disapointed with her withdrawal from the tournament and considered it disrespectful to the game then.

Then she played in a LPGA tournament soon after and was even able to get under Korean golfer Park Se-ri’s skin during the tournament:

Wie was up on the chopping block at the HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship early this month. A bewildered Pak Se-ri said at the time, I tried to talk to her a few times, but she wouldn’t even give me a response.

Ever since then Michelle Wie’s game has continued to collapse and the resentment of golfers of her has finally reached a boiling point this past week. Wie once again falling way behind on the golf course during a LPGA tournament, decided to pull one of her patented withdrawals from the tournament before her score even got more embarrassing. This did not sit well with the LPGA’s best golfer Annika Sorenstam:

“I just feel that there’s a little bit of lack of respect and class just to leave a tournament like that and then come out and practice here,” said Sorenstam, who soldiered on for four days despite returning from a back and neck injury.

“It’s a little funny that you pull out with an injury and then you start grinding. My doctor told me to rest.”

Sorenstam was quick to note that Wie received a sponsor’s exemption to the tournament. That means she was invited. The feeling on the LPGA Tour is that Wie has mistaken invitation for entitlement.

Well her life of entitlement on the golf course is quickly coming to an end as even the media who built her up are now quickly tearing her down as well:

Phil Mickelson withdrew because of a wrist injury and flew home to San Diego for an MRI. He saw two doctors, had one cortisone shot and decided to withdraw from his next tournament.

Michelle Wie withdrew because of a wrist injury and went to the range to hit balls. In fairness, at least she took a day off.

It only gets better, look how this writer wraps up his article:

But she is no longer the prodigy that amazed the golf world with such power for such youth.

She is 17, but no longer a kid.

There was a time the LPGA Tour needed Wie a lot more than Wie needed the LPGA Tour. That might not be the case anymore.

People are far more willing to forgive a bad round than bad manners.

The criticism must have had an effect because Wie once again contemplating pulling another withdrawal yesterday in another tournament decided to stay in and finished the tournament with an embarrassing 21 over par.

I have said this once and I will keep saying this again. Michelle Wie has been playing in these PGA tour events in order to build her brand name image and make money from it. However, she is doing this at the expense of all the much better LPGA golfers out there which is effecting the image of the LPGA and their players as them being below Wie and a lesser league even though many of the golfers in the LPGA are much better than her. If Michelle Wie consistently played LPGA events and lost which she probably would her name brand image would sink dramatically, but the quality of the image of the LPGA would improve because it would show how much better the other female golfers are compared to Wie. However, by consistently playing in PGA events and losing it gives her some kind of creditbility in order to make money and that is what it is all about.

Michelle Wie is still young and has unlimited potential and will have plenty of opportunity to challenge the PGA in the future, but she should at least become a serious contender before challenging the PGA.

I really can’t blame Wie for all of this because it is clear that her image and brand name marketing strategy is all being devised by her parents. How can anyone forget this statement by her father:

Michelle Wie’s father Wie Byung-wook, a professor of transportation at the University of Hawaii, agreed to a telephone interview with the Chosun Ilbo on Thursday.
I’m well aware there that some say, since Michelle Wie is an American why is she making such a fuss. But you know what, the only thing about her that’s American is her passport, she is definitely Korean.

Than to further show how far her parents are going to create an image around their daughter to make money, the Wie’s have hired a small army of image consultants to promote her. These image consultants have definitely worked because Wie is making more money than the top female golfers despite not winning anything and often embarrassing herself on the golf course.

Wie needs to go the Tiger Woods route while she still has a chance and go to college play collegiate golf to develop her game and then play regularly on the LPGA. If she is able to dominate the LPGA like Sorenstam has done at times than play in PGA events like Sorenstam has also done before. If not we may just be looking at golf’s version of Anna Kournikova.

If she does turn into a bust any bets the Korean media will still be calling her “Korea’s golf phenomenon“?

Make sure you read more over at Iceberg and Lost Nomad.