When Michelle Wie tees off this morning at the Reno-Tahoe Open she will be trying to make history. Wie will once again be looking to become the first woman to make the cut in a men’s professional event since Babe Zaharias did so in 1946. And, apparently, I am one of the few in the media rooting for her.
Besides the national media, Wie has come under a firestorm of criticism from LPGA players, including Annika Sorenstam, for her decision to play in the tournament while the other leading women golfers are playing in the season’s final major, the British Open at Sunningdale. The naysayers believe she should concentrate on playing on the women’s tour — a place where she has yet to win but also where she has struggled, at times, in the last two years.
But Wie’s reasoning is quite simple: "It’s not every day that a woman is given the opportunity to play on the greatest tour in the world," she said in a statement. "This is a tremendous opportunity for me to learn from these great players and take those lessons into the future to becoming the best player I can be on any tour. This is another step in the process of making me a better player."
Correct me where I’m wrong. Aside from our right to be judge, jury and executioner, why the backlash? Why do people choose to bring the hate? The same type of reaction, a little tamer but no less vociferous, met PGA professional Kenny Perry when he decided to forgo the Open Championship to play in a lesser event in Milwaukee. That wasn’t very popular and Perry was openly ripped for bypassing a major championship because he would be settling for the second flight of competition.
In my opinion it’s simply hypocritical to pass judgment on one golfer for backing down from a challenge while doing the same to another for accepting a challenge.
Golfers have gotten too serious and the rituals around the game have gotten tedious. This is highlighted in asuperb and enjoyable article in today’s New York Times by Neil Genzlinger. Whether it’s his intention or not, one of Genzlinger’s messages is that it’s okay to make a little noise on the first tee, or have a few belly laughs on the green. It’s golf, for heaven’s sake, not a funeral.
The tedium and overall seriousness may just be one of the reasons (besides the economy) that golf growth is stagnant. All things being equal, growth of the game is dependent on people having fun playing. And it certainly appears that Wie enjoys teeing it up wth the boys.
I understand her feelings. I like playing with the girls. Seeing carefree swings and graceful attitudes, and women who take themselves less seriously is way more fun than grunts and overswings I’ve come to expect from the all-too-serious men who behave as if golf and fun aren’t even distant cousins.
Wie’s playing in a men’s tour event is good for golf. It is making a second-tier tour event more of a national draw and bringing in a wider viewing audience. And it will hopefully confirm once and for all what some purists are trying to conceal, that Wie and other lady professionals (remember Babe and Annika before her) can play with the boys. — Rico Williams
