Lemont, Ill. – Considering its reputation as a remote PGA Tour stop begging for attention, it comes as no surprise the John Deere Classic is promoting Michelle Wie as the special attraction. That hasn’t drawn applause from everyone connected with the men’s tour, however.
“I just don’t want it to be a freak show,” said Frank Nobilo, analyst for The Golf Channel and a former PGA Tour winner.
“It needs to end, and it needs to end now,” said touring pro John Cook, a past member of the PGA Tour policy board, explaining the men’s and women’s tours should remain separate.
Wie, the 15-year-old wunderkind, will tee it up in a regular PGA Tour event for the third time Thursday at the TPC at Deere Run in Silvis, Ill., having missed the cut at the 2004 and 2005 Sony Opens in her native Hawaii. Wie received a sponsor’s exemption into the John Deere Classic, which finds it difficult to attract a quality field or much publicity the week before the British Open.
Shrewd move. Tournament officials say 10,000 more tickets have been sold because of Wie, and a sizable walk-up crowd should boost the numbers. Sales of corporate packages also are stronger than usual, said Barry Cronin, the tournament’s publicity director.
A willowy 6-footer, Wie whacks 300-yard tee shots with regularity. She had already drawn comparisons to Tiger Woods by the time she reached her 13th birthday. Ernie Els played with Wie in last year’s Sony Open and marveled at her golf swing, saying it was the best he’d seen by a female player.
“If you ask an ad agency for the charisma rating of golfers, they’d say Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Fred Couples and Michelle Wie,” Cronin said.
Wie makes headlines wherever she goes. She shared the third-round lead at the U.S. Women’s Open at Cherry Hills before slipping to a tie for 23rd after a final-round 82.
Following the John Deere Classic, Wie will play in another men’s event, having qualified for the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. A victory in the PubLinks would earn Wie an invitation to the Masters. Winning the John Deere Classic would qualify Wie for the 2005 British Open at St. Andrews.
That may seem far-fetched, but Wie can dream, can’t she?
“What distinguishes Michelle Wie from other LPGA players is she has said, ‘My goal is to play on the PGA Tour,”‘ Cronin said. “Then you look at her skills and you think, ‘If anybody has a chance, she might.’
“Wouldn’t it be great for the John Deere Classic to be part of that history, to give her an audition?”
Only a handful of players ranked among the world’s top 50 are entered in the John Deere Classic. Tiger Woods, who will play in Ireland instead, has no problem with Wie receiving a sponsor’s exemption. As a 16-year-old amateur, Woods received a similar invitation to the 1992 Los Angeles Open.
“If the sponsors want to get a crowd, that’s what they do,” Woods said. “I understand where she’s coming from and where they’re coming from.”
John Daly also supports her appearance. “It will be great for her, but I think it will help the LPGA more than anything.”
Cook, one of Woods’ best friends on the tour, disagrees. He said the men’s and women’s pro tours should not mix.
“Michelle is a great talent, but it is a story that needs to go no further,” Cook said. “LPGA golf and men’s golf are apples and oranges.”
Reflecting the sentiments of many players, Charles Howell III said he would have no problem with Wie playing in the John Deere Classic or other PGA Tour events if she qualifies for them, rather than be given an exemption.
Howell and Wie work under the same swing coach, Florida-based David Leadbetter, and have played and practiced together. Howell believes Wie’s potential could someday land her on the PGA Tour. But, he said, it’s not fair for her to get a free pass in the meantime.
“It’s going to be a bit of a circus,” Howell said. “And it should be. You’ve got a 15-year-old kid who is incredible. The circus atmosphere brings a lot of attention to golf. That’s good.
“But I’d rather that sponsor’s exemption go to a player trying to make his tour card, trying to earn a living out here. I feel for those guys.”
Reigning British Open champion Todd Hamilton said it’s not his place to tell sponsors how to distribute their exemptions. Hamilton wonders, however, if playing in a PGA Tour event is in Wie’s best interest. It may be more beneficial to her in the long term, he said, if she plays in tournaments where she has a chance to win.
“She’s a great talent, but I think, and I’ve heard this said by other people, she needs to learn how to hold a trophy in a certain way,” Hamilton said.
Nobilo echoed that sentiment.
“She had a chance to win the U.S. Women’s Open and she didn’t. Fine, she’s only 15. She’ll learn from that,” Nobilo said. “But it’s like a heavyweight boxer who just got knocked out. Now two weeks later they stick you in the ring again, against a bigger opponent? It doesn’t make sense.”
It makes sense for the John Deere Classic. Cronin has issued credentials to media from as far away as Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York and London.
“If she makes the cut and makes it to the weekend, you’re going to have a lot of golf writers from around the country changing their plane reservations,” Cronin said. “Instead of flying directly to Scotland, they’ll be flying into Quad Cities International Airport.”
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
