The Michelle Wie Meltdown Continues

Michelle Wie’s abysmal play continues in the US Open:

Michelle Wie was in good company at the U.S. Women’s Open, but in the worst way.

In a rugged start to the biggest event in women’s golf, the 17-year-old from Hawaii continued her free fall Thursday by hitting only four fairways and matching her highest score ever in this championship with an 82.

While her bad play continues, the backlash against Wie continues as well:

In the two weeks since Annika Sorenstam publicly criticized 17-year-old Michelle Wie for a "lack of respect and class" in the way she withdrew from the Ginn Tribute tournament this month, Sorenstam said Tuesday she has had no contact with Wie or anyone else from her camp. Asked specifically if an apology this week at the U.S. Women’s Open would be too little too late, Sorenstam replied, "It’s never too late." <…>

"I just voiced my opinion a few weeks ago," she said, referring to Wie’s withdrawal, when she left the course citing a wrist injury after being 14 over par through 16 holes. "But I think I have said what I wanted said and I’m over it. I’m here and I’m playing and that’s really what matters to me. I’m not really sure how they deal with these type of things. All I can say is I said what I wanted to say and I stand for what I say and I still feel that way."

I think Sorenstam is going at this the wrong way because I really can’t blame Wie for what is going on, she is still only 17 years old.  Everything that is going on with Wie can be linked right back to her father.  He is the guy that should be apologizing for what he is doing to his daughter’s career and its effects on women’s golf in general.  Need I remind everyone what her dad had to say about his daughter to the Korean media in order to score endorsement dollars in Korea.  He has completely sold out his daughter to make money and the expense of developing her talent. 

Remember her father is also the same guy who blew off advice from Tiger Woods to develop her talent at the amateur level in order to learn how to win before competing in professional events:

"Michelle shot even par on the PGA Tour at age 14. How old was Tiger when he did that?" he added. "Whenever we hear these statements by Tiger, we don’tunderstand. It [Woods’ position] doesn’t make any sense."

Michelle Wie is still young enough to turn it around and hopefully turn her career into a Jennifer Capriati story instead of the Anna Kournikova route she is currently going.