Wie Disqualified for Not Signing Scorecard
Ok…the first rule they should teach when you make the LPGA tour is: sign your scorecard after the round! Sounds easy, right? So easy that any first grader could accomplish it.
Michelle Wie failed to follow that seemingly simple rule on Saturday after finishing in 2nd place - with one good round away from possibly winning her first tournament.
Just minutes after tapping in her last putt of the third round, Wie sat red-eyed at a folding table in front of baffled reporters and photographers, explaining why she’d been disqualified from the tournament.
Players must sign their scorecards before leaving the scoring area.
“I don’t know why or how it happened,” Wie said.
Apparantly her parents have not taught the youngster the most basic aspects of the game. Rather than negotiate a $20 million contract from Nike, they should have been taking care of other business - like what to do after you complete a round!
After the serious gaff in etiquette, Michelle simply climbed into an SUV with her parents and drove away.
Sue Witters, the LPGA’s director of tournament competitions, disqualified Wie in a small office in an LPGA trailer at the course after asking her what had happened.
“She was like a little kid after you tell them there’s no Santa Claus,” Witters said.
Wie told reporters that after she finished her round Friday, she left the tent just above the ninth green where players sign their scorecards. She was chased down by volunteers working in the tent, who pointed out she hadn’t signed.
Wie returned to the tent and signed the card, and “I thought it would be OK,” she said.
But Wie, according to Witters, had already walked outside the roped-off area around the tent. At that point, the mistake was final, Witters said.
Witters said she and other tour officials didn’t learn about the mistake from volunteers until well after Wie teed off yesterday morning, so they let her finish the round.
So the Michelle Wie saga continues. In fact, there has been no one on the LPGA tour to have such a sad saga for so long. Once again, Michelle has destroyed her own chances of living up to her incredible potential. We only wish it was not by such stupid means.