Right now, one imagines Tim Finchem, PGA Tour Commissioner is sitting in his office in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida wondering how to fill the void left by the indefinite absence of Tiger Woods. Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, maybe even Steve Stricker or Zach Johnson could help towards that end. But no, he concludes, although each player is a champion and has a fan base, they are already a part of the PGA body and wouldn’t add much new excitement beyond golf diehards. Who can push the media ticker and attract non-traditional golf interests on a short term basis for the PGA until Tiger returns, which some believe will be in Augusta at The Masters. Suddenly, a name pops into Mr. Finchem’s head. A stroke of marketing genius. Michelle Wie. Sponsors love her, just like Tiger. Mainstream media covers her every move on the course, to the virtual exclusion of ninety percent of the rest of the field, just like Tiger. She is promoted by one of the biggest sportswear and equipment suppliers in the world, Nike, just like Tiger. She even attends Stanford, just like Tiger did. My goodness, Finchem thinks, she’s Tiger in a skirt! Faster than he can spell R-E-V-E-N-U-E, the Commish picks up a phone to dial the Stanford student directory.
Michelle, don’t pick up the phone. Go back and study for your Engineering 101 test and forget about the PGA. They have their own mess to clean up. As popular as you are, you are not Tiger Woods.
As somebody who wears their Michelle Wie fandom on their sleeve, I can see where this might be good for the PGA, but not so good for Michelle.
There would be a lot of press generated if Wie did this. The whir of high speed cameras would follow her everywhere she went. ESPN and sports radio would be abuzz with Wie talk. The top brass at the Golf Channel would cry tears of joy. And unlike her former attempts at playing with the big boys, she would come into a PGA event as both an LPGA winner and arguably the best player at the Solheim Cup. The powers that would want Michelle to do this might even convince her that playing a PGA will help both the PGA and the LPGA.
Ah, but there are sharks in those crystal blue waters. If she took the bait, played a PGA event in early 2010 but performed miserably, it might sink all the goodwill she has built since Solheim (or since going to Q-school). If she did this, she MUST perform well, either make the cut or miss by a stroke or two at worst. That’s a lot to ask for, an historic performance.
Because here’s what happens if she finishes near or at the bottom of the field, or worse, she can’t finish due to injury (ankle). Remember her being carted off at John Deere, and few people outside of Wie fans feeling any sympathy for her. If she plays very poorly relative to the men, then people will say, “oh see, here is the Team Wie arrogance again…she wins one stinking tournament and suddenly thinks she can play with the guys again!”
And don’t think the spitballs and “kick me” signs would come just from fans. Fellow LPGA players might not give her credit for trying to help the golf world through the exposure she would bring during Tiger‘s hiatus. They might take her playing on the PGA as a sign that she doesn’t see the LPGA as her priority and really has always been angling on how to play regularly on the PGA. The goodwill and camaraderie she built with fellow LPGA Tour players in 2009 might be washed away.
My advice to Michelle Wie is to not be tempted by the allure of the PGA and making a cut. It won’t help her and it won’t help the LPGA if she doesn’t make the cut, which she has yet to do in a PGA event. The PGA and the media that covers it put everything into the Tiger Woods boat. With that ship overturned and sinking, it is not Michelle’s responsibility to throw them a lifeline at the possible expense of her reputation. With her Solheim success, her maiden win on tour at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational and closing out the year with a runner-up finish in Dubai on a gimpy ankle, she is riding a wave of renewed positive popularity. But right now, I don’t think with all she’s accomplished of late that she has enough of a cushion, so to speak, of good will that she can risk another flame out in a PGA event. This is very different than when Annika Sorenstam, the greatest LPGA player of all time, tried her hand at the PGA. Annika had a career of accomplishments behind her when she took that risk. Nothing she did at a PGA event could negate her standing among golf fans. Michelle’s credentials as an LPGA champion are just beginning to be written. Maybe one day she will have a body of work that will shield her from the harsh criticism of taking on the PGA challenge. Now is not that time.
Even the LPGA should be wary of focusing all of its attention on Michelle Wie. Undoubtedly they should try to use Tiger’s absence to promote both Wie and the LPGA Tour. But promote an array of players with Wie. If there is a lesson here for marketing, it is the danger of promoting one player as synonymous with the Tour. Nobody thinks Michelle will suddenly have paramours popping up on every talk show, but who knows what can derail a career; injuries, apathy, other players emerging to deny Michelle win number two. This is a time for the LPGA to try to make a dent in the overwhelming share of attention the PGA gets in the US golf market, and Wie is a part of that strategy. However, they should not only market Wie. Most of all, they should hope Michelle isn’t swayed by an offer to make another PGA run.
