Archive for the ‘pga’ Category

Michelle Wie will always remember the 8th hole at the Legends Reno-Tahoe golf tournament. This is the hole she carded a quintuple bogey (do pros even do that?!) to put her way out of contention for making the cut at the Legends Reno-Tahoe PGA tournament.

Its interesting to note that pga.com blogged every move Michelle made on Thursday and Friday. Talk about being under pressure. How many golfers have a blogger following them around on every hole, documenting the entire time frame of your round with comments after each shot you make?

The crowds were huge though for Michelle. They never stop coming out to see her play, even though she never really does much of anything golf-wise to warrant it. It would be interesting to hear what the PGA players say in the locker room about the Michelle Wie circus going on within their home turf. Most probably wonder when it will end.

Anyway, below is an example of the blow by blow action that the PGA website covered for Michelle. Is it any wonder with the crowds and the hoopla that Michelle keeps getting these exemption invitations? Until the interest stops, the exemptions will keep coming – even if its playing with the men.

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5:14 p.m. — As Michelle left the final green, someone in the crowd yelled, “Thanks for coming, Michelle!” The crowd erupted one last time.

She’s not in a good mood, but she flashed a smile and a wave. It’s hard not to root for her. Despite posting an 8-over 80 today to finish her 36 holes at 9-over 153, she played really well for 35 holes. It would be a shame if she’s remembered for that one bad one.

She has to improve her iron play and her chipping to compete at this highest level, but she has a lot of game, especially for someone who’s still so young. And what she does for a crowd, for a tournament, is incredible.

Thank you all for reading, for your feedback, and for loving the game. It’s been a blast. See you next week at the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills.

5:00 p.m. — Last hole. Huge gallery awaits on the par-5 ninth. I bet the gallery isn’t this big on Sunday.

I feel bad for Michelle. She played great golf this week, but a lot of people will look at that quintuple bogey one hole ago last hole or her total score today and smirk. She doesn’t deserve that.

With no chance to make the cut, this is going to be her final hole. She goes for the green in two and puts her second in the greenside bunker.

The murmurs are going through the crowd as the standard bearer walks by. There is a platoon of security off the green waiting to walk her to the scoring tent.

She blast out to eight feet.

Did I say this gallery was big? People are running over to see her putt.

She drains the birdie to end her tournament and the crowd gives her a long cheer. They love her here.

Get the entire blogged round here

The talk of the golf world today seemed to be concentrated on Michelle Wie’s first round at the Reno Tahoe PGA tournament. Forget about the fact that most of the great players of the PGA are playing in the World Golf Championships at the Bridgestone invitational, and the LPGA is wrapped up in the women’s British Open across the pond. No, the PGA web site features Michelle on the front page in rotator header graphics with Retief Goosen and Juli Inkster.

Geez, you would think that she was tearing up the field over in Reno.

The fact is that after the first round, Michelle is tied for 76th place with a round of one over 73. In fact, it is hard to find the leaderboard of this tournament on the PGA web site to determine who is in first place. Here is a minute by minute description of every shot Michelle Wie took today. It is this kind of thing that really must piss off PGA members.

Granted, playing in a PGA tournament these days must be a high-pressure situation for Michelle, considering the fact that she has not won one tournament in three years playing against the ladies. You have got to give her credit for her unbelievable confidence in her abilities. If Michelle does make the cut on this one, just wait for the media attention. Although she is 0-8 in her attempts to even make the cut in the PGA tournaments she has played thus far.

Well, gotta go. The golf channel will have good coverage tonight on Michelle’s round. No one is immune to the Wie spell.

Annika Sorenstam is not holding back on the topic of Michelle Wie and why she would choose to play with the men of the PGA this week rather than compete with the LPGA at the Women’s British Open.

Thursday begins Annika’s final Women’s British Open before retirement. Sorenstam believes the 18-year-old Wie, who will be in action in Reno, Nevada, this week, is not doing herself (anyone else) any favors by playing against the men. Michelle has slipped in the women’s rankings to number 299.

Sorenstam has some credibility on the subject. After all, she was the World’s No 1 women golfer in May 2003 when she became the first woman in 53 years to play on the US men’s tour.

Although she narrowly missed the cut, the now 37-year-old Sorenstam described her two rounds in the Colonial Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, as “a wonderful experience”. However, she never felt the need to do anything similar again.

Annika remarked, “I really don’t know why Michelle is continuing to do this. I mean, we have a major this week and if you can’t qualify for a major, I don’t see any reason why you should play with the men.”

Michelle was not granted an exemption for Sunningdale, although she did have a chance of qualifying at the State Farm Classic, an LPGA Tour event in Springfield, Illinois, 11 days ago. True to Wie form, she was one shot off the lead after three rounds, then was disqualified for not having signed her second-round scorecard until after she had left the recording area.

Wie opted against entering any further qualifying event for the British Open. Because she was not granted an exemption, she chose to go to Reno to compete against the men instead.

These exemptions are getting old. Unless Michelle starts to compete and win, the exemptions will soon dry up. She has got to learn to first, sign her scorecard correctly, then start winning on the LPGA without exemptions. She is not the cute 13 wunderkind any more. And the ladies of the LPGA are getting pretty darn weary of the whole thing.