WAIT AND WIE
After ’14 Open title, former prodigy eyes another major win
IT HAS been three years since winning the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open validated Michelle Wie’s career. It took a while, but capturing her first major championship that year at Pinehurst has changed how she is viewed.
She ar r i ve d at Tr um p Na ti o n a l Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., for the 72nd U.S. Women’s Open this week no longer trying to fulfill anyone’s expectations but her own.
“It took me so long to get to that point and it was just kind of like a will-it-everhappen kind of thing,” said Wie, who is playing in her 14th U.S. Women’s Open. “Obviously, there were a lot of doubts and a lot of things that creep into your mind. Knowing that I have achieved that in 2014, it definitely makes me have a different perspective.”
Wie was 10 when she became the youngest ever to qualify for a USGA women’s amateur competition in 2000. At 12, she became the youngest to qualify for an LPGA Tour event. Now 27, Wie has four LPGA tour victories, the most recent being the U.S. Open, and has played in four consecutive Solheim Cups. That would be a decent career for most, but frankly, more was expected of Wie.
She grew up a sure thing to dominate the LPGA Tour with her length off the tee and willingness to play against men. While it might have been difficult to live up to the expectations, a shaky putter and a brutal wrist injury have been her undoing.
“After I won in 2014, I thought I was going to win 15 more events,” she said Tuesday. “Life doesn’t happen the way you plan it out. Unfortunately, I’ve faced a lot of really big injuries since then. I’ve had to piece myself back together.”
Wie is in a good place these days. She changed the flight of her ball in the middle of the last season, going to a left-toright fade to develop some consistency. It has worked so far. She enters this week with top-5 finishes in four of her last six events, and feels ready to contend this weekend.
“It always helps to be playing well entering an Open,” Wie said. “It’s such an important tournament for me personally; I put a lot of stress on myself, a lot of expectations on myself. So it does make it easier for me mentally to enter the week knowing that I’m playing good golf. The nerves are still there. The stress is always still there. But my main goal this week is just to have fun.”
Wie stuck to a theme echoed by USGA officials and most of the 156 players competing in the tournament when questioned about playing on a course owned by President Trump. It’s about the golf, she said.
“I take my role as a female role model very seriously,” Wie said. “This week is about the golf. The U.S. Open is our national championship. It’s one of my favorite weeks of the year. This week I want to focus on the golf part and I want to hopefully inspire a lot of young women and women in general.”
Follow-up questions about POTUS generated the same general response. “I’m here to grow the game and bring more junior girls into the game,” she said.
She remains one of the most visible stars on the LPGA Tour, signing her share of autographs during a humid day of practice Tuesday before Thursday’s opening round. Trump National is a beast of a golf course set up for 6,732 yards that will play to a par 72.
“The condition of the golf course is pure,” she said. “It’s just pure conditions. I’m excited to play it.”
Wie’s length off the tee should be an asset if she can keep it in the fairway. A solid short game should put her in contention for the weekend, and offer a chance at more validation with a second U.S. Open championship.