A few years ago, Michelle Wie was the rising star. The slender athlete started her career at the tender age of 16 as a pro but wasn’t in the LPGA until later. The Hawaiian golfer did so well on many tours. She played in big tournaments such as U.S. Women’s Open and Kraft Nabisco Championship and finally the LPGA Championship.
Her career took off in 2016, and it was promising, but she didn’t reach the climax, resulting in the disappointment of many of her fans, and her reaching the bottom low. During the U.S. Women’s Open this week at CordValle, Wie strangely managed to miss eight cuts in 16 starts, withdrew another time, and didn’t go further than T-25 and is now No.113 on the money list.
“When you are a kid, everything seems easier,” Wie justified her misfortune in a recent interview, as she was preparing for her 13th U.S. Women’s Open. “This is how life is. I’ve had my share of successes and failures. But I’m recovering.”
The numbers don’t lie. Wie is losing, at an alarming rate. Her game is falling apart, and unless she does something about it, there will be grave consequences. “When you go through much pain you begin to lose the confidence in how good you are,” Wie said. “On my way here, I saw the USGA signs, when I saw my picture in one of them, it boosted my confidence.” The last good game was in the said tournament last year; she finished 11th.
Where did young Wie go wrong? She had the best career start, anyone couldn’t ask for a better start. Winning the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open, besides other three victories. Michelle is not just anyone. Her first LPGA event was at 12; she won the U.S. Women’s Open Amateur Public Links at 13. She virtually won in the Sony Open at the tender age of 14. What happened?
In 2008 she abandoned competing against males, making it clear that she’d be better off if she didn’t compete with adult males, from the beginning. In 2007, her struggle with injuries took off. She tried to shrug it off but with no luck. From 2007 to 2012, Wie earned a BA in Communications from Stanford University, one of her proudest moments as she said.
In 2014, she saw some success when she won the U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2 and the LOTTE Championship back home in Hawaii, becoming number 4 on the money list. She now struggles with mainly health issues with seems to be the main obstacles for her. Michelle remains one of the biggest names in women’s golf since Nancy Lopez; Wie success would mean a lot for golf.
Everyone is supporting her this year. At least, she managed to maintain sympathy which might be her fuel to get back on track and improve her career. She admits that it’s a brutal and hard game, but she is determined to go out there and prove herself. Good luck, Michelle.
Post written by Melanie Savanne, frequent contributor to HuffPo, TheAtlantic, and SynergyMaids.