Wie Reprise at Fields Open in Hawaii

Michelle Wie returns to the LPGA Tour in the 2008 Fields Open in Hawaii after a long, torturous hiatus. Playing on a special tournament exemption, Wie hopes to display the flashes of brilliance that made her one of the most talked about golfers in recent years, male or female. A pair of wrist injuries, meddlesome parents, and questionable tournament selection made a mess of Wie's career last year. With the benefit of youth and David Leadbetter on her side, she hopes to ram the genie back into the bottle. A few questions remain and they'll be answered this week. Are the wrists healed? She says they are. Did she find new parents? Evidently not. Can she shake off the ring rust on her game and the long delay between competitions? We'll see soon enough. Her personal schedule and non-member status in the LPGA will limit the number of tournaments she can compete in for the next couple of years. I hope her posse hasn't raised her expectations too high. Despite being a remarkable talent I believe she was steered in the wrong direction in her early career. She should have played age- related women's events to develop a sense for what it takes to win a tournament. All pro golfers, male and female, have great swings, short games, and can putt 10 times better than the average golfer. Still, only one wins every week they tee it up. Teenager's psyches are fragile enough without submitting them to world class competition before they're allowed to drive. If I were her coach, I be happy if she made the cut this week after all she's been through. She's still a tremendous talent with the advantage of youth on her side. Let's hope her handlers don't screw up this second chance. Interestingly, I went to Miss Wie's website. It's handled by the William Morris Agency, LLC. There's just the opening page asking that you leave an email address to be notified when the full site launches. Perhaps they're waiting for her first win. I'd love to see it, all in due time.

Yes, there still is a tournament with other players besides Wie. Stacy Prammanasudh defends. Annika plays for the second week in a row driving for the money title and to regain her position at the top of women's golf. I wouldn't bet against her , even after Ochoa joins the fray. Julie Inkster, the ageless one, makes her 2008 debut. Karie Webb and Laura Davies are there as well. It's an excellent field for the second tournament of the year even without the world's #1. I read the "unofficial" starting field and counted 6 Kims entered. I'll let you know if that goes up or down by Thursday. I believe the all time record for Kims in one event is 9. It doesn't appear to be in jeopardy this week.

I'll watch this one to see the LPGA stars and young upstarts. Also, watching golf in Hawaii helps me block out the suicide inducing weather here.

Til' next,



Non-golf question....Can any reasonable person convince me that
these two aren't Grandmother/Granddaughter? Martha Stewart and Paris Hilton?