Michelle under the watchful eye of her father
The latest chapter in Michelle Wie vs. the men tees off Thursday in the first round of the PGA Tour's Sony Open, this time with the major difference that Wie will be playing for cash as well as pride.
Wie will be making her third start in the Sony tournament, where she came within a shot of making the cut in 2004. Now 16 and a pro, many believe this is the year Wie breaks through to make a cut in the men's event after failing in PGA Tour, Nationwide and Japanese Tour men's events in the past.
So the question now is, after watching Wie miss cuts for the last two years, how excited should we be that she's making another try this week?
As with everything with Wie, it's difficult to figure out how to judge her performances in men's events because of her age. If Wie had missed the cut in consecutive Sony Opens and the John Deere Classic at, say, age 25, it would be easy to dismiss her attempts and ignore any future play against the men.
But at 16 and likely to improve in the coming years, Wie's near-misses at the 2004 Sony and the 2005 John Deere seem to show she is destined to make a cut on the men's tour, probably sooner rather than later.
Age vs. genderBut that brings up another tough question to answer. If fans can see a future where Wie is making the cut in tour events at 20, how important is it if she misses another cut in the Sony this week?
Critics of Wie, or of the concept of women playing against men in general, will latch onto another missed cut this week as a sign that Wie, Annika Sorenstam or any woman shouldn't be getting exemptions into men's events. At some point, a string of missed cuts begins to lose the interest of fans and tournament directors.
But one made cut, just one weekend appearance in a men's event, will change the landscape of the men's tour, if not for other women then at least for Wie. If she makes a tour cut at age 16, then tournament directors will be falling over themselves trying to get her to take an exemption to their men's event. She'll likely accept her share of those invitations, and the taboo of a woman in men's event will be shattered forever.
Will that be different if she misses the cut at 16 and makes the cut at 17? Or at 18? Or even 19? Not really. Wie's tender age may be important when it comes to play on the LPGA. Against the men, it is Wie's gender, not her age, that will get people excited. Making a men's cut at 16 would just be a bonus.
