Golf reporter and blogger Robert Thompson had a chance to ask superstar golf instructor David Leadbetter a few questions and made the most of the opportunity:
I asked Leadbetter, who has been pretty outspoken on the mistakes in the Wie camp, why he hadn’t been tossed aside like all the other advisers/agents/managers who have tangled with the teen’s parents. He took the question quite seriously, and though he didn’t address it directly, Leadbetter had some interesting things to say:
“This girl is so talented, she could do anything she wants to do in the world of golf. But people in her camp — and I’m not going to name them — have been a bit off on what she can and can’t do. It is tough that she’s a part-time golfer, unlike the other girls who work at it 24/7. In the past she’d go to school, pick it up and just play. Now there’s a lot more pressure on her. These girls — Lorena Ochoa, Paula Creamer, Annika — these girls are good. And it is hard for Michelle to be a bit player.
Read the rest of the article. Leadbetter’s comments are quite blunt and … interesting.
I honestly don’t think she’ll ever really contend again. Her parents have ruined what promised to be an extraordinary golf talent.
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I don’t agree that she’s ruined forever. I think that talented youngsters who get too much pressure to compete when they’re young often just need a break. If she gives up on golf for now, becomes a student and concentrates on something else for a few years, eventually she’ll realize that there’s something she really loves about playing golf when she controls her own destiny. I feel like I’ve seen this pattern with other child athletes.
It may be a need for her to wait until she starts to fend for herself without any help then find someone who can look after her then. Sometimes as children grow up they learn about fear and being your own person should relly help her.